Barbara Hepworth’s Sensuous Forms at Towner Eastbourne

Barbara Hepworth‘s retrospective, Art & Life (27 May–3 September 2023), is on view at Towner Eastbourne after displays at The Hepworth Wakefield, The National Galleries of Scotland in Edinburgh, and Tate St Ives (2021–2023).

An important 20th-century sculptor, Hepworth sculpted forms defined by their sensuous, organic appearance and their exploration of solidity and space.

The exhibition includes some of the earliest drawings and paintings Hepworth made when she was a teenager and showcases work that spans her whole career.

It features geometric abstract carvings she made in the 1920s and 30s, beautiful bronze sculptures from the late 1950s and 60s, and later, more experimental work in which she adopted unusual materials such as aluminium and lead crystal.

Hepworth often experimented with negative space as a way to explore the balance and flow of forms. Voids, she suggests, might be considered expressions of forms themselves.

In Pierced Hemisphere I (1937), we see how Hepworth shaped marble into a multi-dimensional hemispherical shape. The carving is pierced slightly off-centre. Through the cavity, different textures of the marble’s interior emerge.

Art & Life unfolds a comprehensive display of Hepworth’s life work. The presentation introduces audiences to the artist’s unique approach to different disciplines and how they are connected.

Main image: Exhibition view: Barbara Hepworth, Art & Life, Towner Eastbourne, Eastbourne (27 May–3 September 2023). Courtesy Towner Eastbourne, Eastbourne. Photo: Rob Harris.