Past

The Sculpture Show

  • 17th December 2011 − 24th June 2012 | Modern One (Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art)

Hepworth and Nicholson

The free-standing sculptures on show in Room 4 are by Barbara Hepworth, and the painted reliefs are by Ben Nicholson. Hepworth was born in Wakefield, Yorkshire in 1903; Nicholson was born in Buckinghamshire in 1894. They were key figures in London’s avant-garde in the 1930s. Just before the outbreak of war, in August 1939, they moved to the village of St Ives in Cornwall.

St Ives had a major effect on the work of both artists. Their interests shifted from a white, Modernist, often geometric aesthetic, to one inspired by the sea, rocks and waves found in and around St Ives.

On display in Room 4.

Next: Epstein and Gill

'Wave' was inspired by the landscape of Cornwall, where Hepworth lived at the time. The piece epitomises the kind of sculpture the artist was producing towards the end of the Second World War. The artist has combined organic form with natural materials and the use of string. The Russian Constructivist sculptor, Naum Gabo used nylon thread in his sculpture from around 1938 and Hepworth, who knew him well, may have been influenced by this, as well as by mathematical models. The string emphasizes the tension between the interior and exterior of the work. This tension is further highlighted by the contrast between the polished wood and matt, painted interior.

Wave Dame Barbara Hepworth

Open

More on this work
During the 1960s Nicholson returned to producing relief works in a similar vein to those he had made in the 1930s. This work comprises carved board with a painted surface and graphite lines. Nicholson has, however, scraped off much of the warm white paint, to create a worn, textured surface. The composition includes an exact circle, which offers a stillness against the surrounding, irregular shaped forms. Although distinctly abstract, at this time Nicholson?s reliefs were often inspired by the landscape. The title refers to a visit Nicholson made to Paros in Greece in autumn 1961. With this in mind the two blocks of blue colour call to mind a clear, Mediterranean sky.

1962 (Blue Paros) Ben Nicholson

Open

More on this work
Compared to his crisp, clean, white reliefs of the 1930s, Nicholson?s later reliefs have contrasting textures and tilted shapes flowing in different directions. They were usually carved in hardboard, in very low relief with a razor blade. This one also displays the point of a compass which he used to engrave the circles into the surface. The Greek word `Vasilios? means `of Royal blood?. Often Nicholson would add a subtitle to his works which bear no relationship with the actual piece but simply because he liked the word or name. This is almost certainly an example of this and relates to his travels to Greece in 1959 and 1961.

May 1965 (White Relief: Vasilios 2) Ben Nicholson

Open

More on this work
'Dyad' is one of Hepworth's most overtly figurative sculptures. On one side there is the incised profile of a man's head and on the other there is a smaller, female profile. The form suggests that the two figures are embracing. There is no front or back view: both sides are equal. 'Dyad' is a mathematical term meaning 'two'. Hepworth wrote that she 'used it in this sense of the two forms and the two entities,' combined in one figure. Hepworth made her first pierced sculpture in 1931. Here, she uses holes as a way of uniting the two sides of the work.

Dyad Dame Barbara Hepworth

Open

More on this work
Share