The UK's Hepworth Wakefield will present two new exhibitions that will offer unprecedented insight into the earliest and latest years in the life and work of Yorkshire-born artist Barbara Hepworth. A must-see for any fans of Barbara Hepworth’s work or those looking to learn more about the artist, the exhibitions will complement the major Barbara Hepworth retrospective at Tate Britain this summer.

A GREATER FREEDOM: HEPWORTH 1965 – 1975, from APRIL 18, 2015 - APRIL 2016 

‘..while always remaining constant to my conviction about truth to material, I have found a greater freedom for myself.’ Barbara Hepworth, 1968

A Greater Freedom follows artistic developments in Hepworth’s later years, focusing on the last decade of the sculptor’s life from 1965 – 1975. Showcasing an exciting period in Hepworth’s career and her determination to remain consistently inventive and ambitious, A Greater Freedom examines the legacy of one of the UK’s most famous artists.

Hepworth was extremely prolific during her later years, with Alan Bowness (Director of the Tate Gallery 1980-1988) noting that Hepworth made nearly as many works during the 1960s as the four decades from 1925 until 1960. These later works show Hepworth experimenting with new materials, working in bronze from the late 1950s, slate from 1962 and print-making from 1969. 

The international acclaim and recognition that came from representing Britain at the Venice Biennale in 1952, winning the Grand Prix at the Sao Paul Biennial of 1959 and her commission to create Single Form for the United Nations in the early 1960s, afforded Hepworth opportunities to explore new ideas and processes. She used diverse materials to explore and develop forms that had been present in her work from the early 1930s, stating in 1971, ‘I don’t think anyone realises how much the last ten years has been a fulfilment of my youth’. For example, Hepworth was only able to realise the ambitious marble carvings she conceived years earlier after the Second World War, once previously prohibitively expensive materials became  affordable. 

Hepworth’s interest in exhibition design was also significantly developed in her later years. In particular, Hepworth introduced new methods of displaying installations of her work, following the outdoor exhibition of her work at the Rietveld Pavilion at the Kröller-Müller Museum in 1965, in which Hepworth displayed her sculptures on breezeblock plinths. Subsequently, Hepworth used this technique in her 1968 Tate retrospective, mounting works on breezeblock plinths with the addition of houseplants, bringing moutside into the gallery space. These elements now seem very current, prescient of contemporary installations and A Greater Freedom will reconstruct these designs featuring work included in the 1968 exhibition, highlighting the ingenuity of Hepworth not only in her work but also the techniques involved in displaying it.

HEPWORTH IN YORKSHIRE
16 MAY - 6 SEPTEMBER 2015

‘The whole of this Yorkshire background means more to me as the years have passed. I draw on these early experiences not only visually in texture and contour, but humanly. The importance of man in the landscape was stressed by the seeming contradiction of the industrial town springing out of the inner beauty of the country. This paradox expressed for me most forcibly the fundamental and ideal unity of man with nature which I consider to be one of the basic impulses of sculpture.’ Barbara Hepworth, 1952

Hepworth in Yorkshire will focus on Hepworth’s early years growing up in Wakefield, exhibiting publicly for the first time family photographs and images of Hepworth’s formative years.

Early drawings, paintings and sculpture, which show Hepworth’s natural gifts in these areas, will also be on display. During this time Hepworth was engaging with an academic figurative style that she would soon depart from to find her own artistic voice. The display also features newspaper articles and photography that document her early successes.

Hepworth herself asserted that the experience of growing up in Yorkshire was hugely influential on her work. This is reflected in the series of photographs she commissioned of the Yorkshire landscape in 1964, taken by photographer Lee Sheldrake, which are also exhibited.

In addition to the two exhibitions, The Hepworth Wakefield is home to the Hepworth Family Gift, a remarkable collection that is central to the gallery’s permanent collection. It consists of 44 of Hepworth’s surviving working models for her bronze sculptures (the majority of which were made in plaster) alongside tools and materials drawn from her second studio in St Ives, the Palais de Danse.

Simon Wallis, Director of The Hepworth Wakefield said: ‘We look forward to offering our visitors two new exhibitions that explore new areas of Barbara Hepworth’s life and work as one of Britain’s most significant artists. We will be examining her earliest years in Wakefield and her lifelong connection to the Yorkshire landscape, as well as presenting sculptures and drawings from the final decade of her career, which saw Hepworth at her most prolific. Together with the permanent display of the Hepworth Family Gift - which features 44 of her working models, tools and archives relating to the major commissions for the United Nations and John Lewis Partnership - we have a wonderful offer to complement Tate’s Hepworth retrospective.’

Dr Sophie Bowness, Hepworth’s granddaughter, art historian and a Trustee of the Hepworth Estate said: ‘The Hepworth Wakefield's pair of early and late Hepworth exhibitions promise to be the perfect complement to Tate Britain's major survey, opening in June. The work of the final decade of Hepworth's life is often overlooked and The Hepworth Wakefield's display will feature a beautiful selection of sculpture in a variety of media, alongside her paintings and prints, and will evoke the installations of the period. A highlight will be a group of the late carvings in marble, a material that had special significance for Hepworth and that she gave particular emphasis to in her final years.’

Penelope Curtis, Director of Tate Britain will be speaking about Barbara Hepworth at The Hepworth Wakefield on Friday 15 May. For details and tickets please telephone 01924 247360.