Exhibition: Towner Eastbourne hosts landmark Barbara Hepworth: Art & Life - May 27 - September 3

by Lucia Carpio and Alan Tyler, Content Editors

Barbara Hepworth: Art & Life* - a landmark retrospective exhibition of the iconic British artist's work - is launched at Towner Eastbourne Saturday May 27, running to September 3 2023.  This is one of the major events to mark the gallery's centenary celebrations this year.

The exterior walls of Towner Eastbourne featuring a large-scale colourful geometric artwork is entitled Dance Diagonal (2019) by UK-based German artist Lothar Götz.  The artwork was commissioned to mark the 10th anniversary of the gallery's move from its originalhome in Eastbourne’s Old Town.  Götz was chosen from 60 artists and designers.  The award-winning building was designed by Rick Mather Architects.
Photo by Alan Tyler

Widely regarded as one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, particularly within the realm of sculpture, Barbara Hepworth's innovative approach to form, her exploration of abstraction, and her ability to merge organic and geometric elements in her works were ground-breaking and had a significant impact on the development of modern sculpture.

Barbara Hepworth's sculptures often conveyed a sense of transcendence and spirituality, through the interplay of positive and negative spaces, the use of light and shadow, and the incorporation of voids. 
Above, in the space for Metal and Movement are three sculptures.  From left to right, Forms in Movement (Galliard), 1956, Copper; Curved Form (Trevalgan), 1956, Bronze; and Sea Form (Porthmeor), 1958, Bronze.
Photo by Alan Tyler

Hepworth's wide-ranging interests in music, dance, theatre, politics, and literature also informed her artistic practice. These influences shaped her approach to form, space, rhythm, and materials, leading to the creation of sculptures that embodied a harmonious relationship between nature, the arts, and society. 

Born in Wakefield, Yorkshire, in 1903, Hepworth was trained in sculpture at Leeds School of Art and later at the Royal College of Art where she was exposed to various artistic disciplines, including theatre and stage design.

Barbara Hepworth's Totem, 1961-62.  Marble.
© Bowness. Wakefield Permanent Art Collection (The Hepworth Wakefield)
Photograph on mural shows the artist in her Cornwall studio, the Palais de Danse in St. Ives.
Photo by Lucia Carpio

The exhibition opens with a introduction to the artist's work.  Visitors are greeted with Totem, a white marble sculpture created in 1961-62.  And this space is enhanced by a mural depicting an enlarged photograph that transport visitors to Hepworth's world.  Taken in 1961, the photo shows Hepworth in her studio Palais de Danse, in St Ives, Cornwall, with a series of her sculptures.

Elsewhere in a space for Metal and Movement are three imposing sculptural forms that the artist returned to repeatedly throughout her career using a variety of different materials.  Created in 1956, after a period of 30 years, Hepworth returned to making sculptures in bronze and also copper.  

Photo by Lucia Carpio

The sculptures showcase her interest in exploring the relationship between positive and negative space.  

One may look at these sculptures individually, but also observe and contemplate them collectively while sitting on a bench in front, admiring the sculptures from a seated perspective.

Through abstract forms, Hepworth reveals her enduring ability to express essential human experiences, from interpersonal relationships to our connection to the world around us. 

A detailed look at Hepworth's childhood in Yorkshire through archive material and photographs include some of the artist's earliest known paintings, carvings and life drawings as she began to explore movement and the human form.  

Barbara Hepworth's Pierced Hemisphere, 1937. White marble.
Hepworth was interested in how sculptures interacted with light, shadow,
and the viewer's perspective, aiming to evoke a sense of performance and engage the audience.  
The Hepworth Wakefield (Wakefield art Collection)
Photo by Alan Tyler

After settling in Cornwall in 1939, Hepworth was inspired and influenced by the region's unique landscape. The natural forms, textures, and contours of the Cornish coastline and countryside found expression in her sculptures. She often incorporated the idea of landscape into her works, creating abstracted forms that evoked a sense of place and the organic shapes of nature.

The theatrical world influenced her approach to the presentation and staging of her sculptures. She often considered the spatial relationship between sculptures and their surroundings, carefully positioning them in specific contexts to create a dramatic effect. Visitors to the exhibition are given space to admire Hepworth's work from different angles around the displays, experiencing Hepworth's sense of space while engaging with the pieces.

Barbara Hepworth at work on the plaster prototype for the United Nations Single Form at the Morris Singer foundry, London, May 1963.
Image by Morgan-Walls, courtesy of Towner Eastbourne

Another of Hepworth's most famous work is "Single Form" (1961-1964): Created as a memorial to the former Secretary-General of the United Nations, Dag Hammarskjöld, this monumental bronze sculpture stands at the United Nations headquarters in New York. The abstract form, with a hollow centre and pierced surfaces, symbolizes the human figure and embodies the themes of spirituality and transcendence.  At the exhibition, mounted on a large photograph of the unveiling ceremony at the UN headquarters plays a closed loop of a video depicting Hepworth's speech at the ceremony.

Barbara Hepworth's Kneeling Figure, 1932. Rosewood.
Photo by Alan Tyler

Hepworth was politically engaged, particularly during the post-World War II period. Her belief in social progress and the role of art in society influenced her work. She aimed to create sculptures that were accessible to the public and fostered a sense of community. Hepworth's interest in the politics of the time informed her exploration of themes such as unity, interconnectedness, and the human form's relationship to society.

One may recall Hepworth's "Winged Figure" (1963-1964), a monumental bronze sculpture situated outside the John Lewis department store in Oxford Street, London, a prominent public artwork. It depicts a standing figure with outstretched wings, symbolizing the triumph of the human spirit. The sculpture's dynamic and graceful lines capture a sense of movement and energy.

In the foreground, Baarbara Hepworth's Bicentric Form, 1949. Limestone.
A fusion of two figures into one sculptural entity, explained Hepworth, thus expressing her interest in individual and social relationships and perhaps reference to Cornwall's ancient standing stones.
In the background is Cone and Sphere, 1973. White marble. In her last years,
she returned to working in marble in earnest.
At the back is a series of Hepworth's lithographs, created in the 1970s in reference to Man's first Moon Landing.  Hepworth embraced the impact of scientific advances with a sense of spirituality.
Photo by Alan Tyler

Hepworth had a keen interest in poetry and literature, often drawing inspiration from literary works, and found connections between the written word and the visual arts, seeking to express poetic ideas and evoke emotional responses through her sculptures. Hepworth's engagement with literature influenced her exploration of themes such as spirituality, identity, and the human condition.

Hepworth had a deep appreciation for music and dance, which found resonance in her sculptures. She often described her sculptures in musical terms, relating their rhythms, harmonies, and melodies to the movement and flow of her artworks. 

A section at the exhibition looks at Hepworth's interest in science and technology, from the bold geometric abstsact drawings and sculptures made in the 1930s and her friendship with physicist J D Bernal, through to her iconic Hospital Drawings of the 1940s, and her fascination with the Space Race in the 1960s. 

Barbara Hepworth, Tibia Graft 1949, was one of her Hospital Drawings.
Image courtesy of Towner Eastbourne

In the series of Hospital Drawings, Hepworth created immense intimacy within the operating theatre. She drew focus to the surgeons' hands, but it was in their eyes, in a face covered in surgical mask that Hepworth was able to capture the intensity of their important work.

Barbara Hepworth's Curved Form (Wave II), 1959 Bronze with steel rods
Hepworth was interested in the harmony between organic and geometric shapes,
 seeking to create a visual language that bridged the natural and the technological.
Photo by Alan Tyler

Hepworth's interest in science and technology is evident in her sculptural practice, seeking to integrate elements of scientific abstraction and mathematical principles into her work. Her sculptures often feature precise, geometric forms that reflect her engagement with scientific ideas.  She was influenced by the progressive intellectual climate of her time and the influence of movements like Constructivism. Her engagement with scientific principles and the integration of technology in her work allowed her to explore new possibilities in sculpture and reflect the changing world around her.

One example was Curved Form (Wave II) she did in 1959, which was a variation of a sculpture that Hepworth had made in 1943-44.  According to description accompanying the piece, she later wrote about creating these encircling and open shapes: "I had a studio room looking straight towards the horizon of the sea and enfolded (but with always the escape for the eye straight out to the Atlantic) by the arms of the land to the left and the right of me."   

Barbara Hepworth: Art & Life received rave reviews when previously shown at Hepworth's home town in St. Ives, then in Wakefield and Edinburgh.  Now in the Towner Eastbourne it is an opportunity to explore the iconic artist's (1903 - 1975) work in a town nestled between the south English coast and the South Downs overlooking the English Channel, an idyllic spot where the land and the sea meet, important for an artist who juxtaposed land and sea; solid and fluid.

*Barbara Hepworth Art & Life is organised by The Hepworth Wakefield in collaboration with the National Galleries of Scotland (Edinburgh), Tate St Ives and Towner Eastbourne.