A constant source of amusement, pleasure and wonder
Perhaps, as I did, we think of Barbara Hepworth’s art as big, curvaceous sculptures facing the elements al fresco, weathering the storms on their way to becoming timeless while adapting to whatever landscape they find themselves in. This exhibition shows another side to her work, writes Michael Holland.
Hepworth in Colour shows how the European avant-garde movement inspired and changed her way of working. She began drawing more when materials and time were scarce as she tried to bring up her young triplets in wartime; colour crept into the drawings, which she called ‘sculptures in disguise’, and into her larger three-dimensional work. Even so, as important to the work as Hepworth herself thought colour was, she says that the public ‘never understood’.
The exhibition brings 44 artworks together, with some of her major sculptures included: ‘Sculpture with Colour (Oval Form), Pale Blue and Red’ was a breakthrough piece when she combined strings and colour into a wood carving for the first time.
As you look at many of the 18 sculptures you do find yourself being drawn into their core, where the colour is most often found; sliding down into the spiral of fascination. The opening view found a lot of people staring quietly, all with their own thoughts going on.
Yes, Hepworth does keep the titles pragmatic: ‘Curved Stone with Yellow’; ‘Sphere with Inside and Outside Colour’; ‘Drawing for Sculpture (with Colour),’ which give no insight into what she wanted the viewer to see, whether they have their own ideas or not. In this way she distances herself from the larger, public sculptures, although they are very recognisable as Hepworths, leaving them where they can be seen by anyone to make of them what they want.
For the smaller pieces, in private collections, they will be a constant source of amusement, pleasure, and wonder.
The Joseph Hage Aaronson & Bremen Exhibition: Hepworth in Colour is curated by Dr Alexandra Gerstein, Curator of Sculpture and Decorative Arts at the Courtauld Gallery and Dr Stephen Feeke, independent writer and curator whose PhD from the Courtauld Institute of Art focused on Barbara Hepworth’s bronze sculptures.
Courtauld Gallery until 6th September.
Booking and full details: https://courtauld.ac.uk/
