Barbara Hepworth: a striking sculptress

Dame Barbara Hepworth (1903-1975) was one of the most influential female British artists of the 20th century. Passionate about political and technological change, much of her art is sculpture-based abstraction, and she was instrumental in the development of international modern art.

She trailblazingly used a range of materials within her body of work including wood, marble, silver, limestone, and most famously, bronze. Celebrating 120 years since her birth, a night light has been shed on Hepworth’s exploration of interhuman relationships and connection with our surroundings.

At the beginning of the second world war, Hepworth moved to St Ives, Cornwall, and it was here she remained for the rest of her life. In 1949 she purchased Trewyn Studio where she developed and sustained her illustrious artistic career. She described the Cornish stone-built property as her spiritual oasis, and it has now been converted into the Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden. It is largely unchanged since her death, both inside and out, with the outdoor bronze sculptures in the same positions she left them in.

Displaying a collection of work spanning almost 50 years, her interpretations and visions of art and life are conveyed, combining personal life experiences with a passion for nature, politics, religion, and science. However, it is her sculpture garden that piqued my interest most.

As you walk out of the museum, you are struck with an iridescent display of emerald. The angular and harsh geometric forms of the sea-green, bronze sculptures beautifully clash with the luscious and overflowing greenery that surrounds them. Twisting and turning paths lead you languorously through a maze of abstract forms with the cool sea breeze providing a calming presence all the while.

Four-Square (Walk Through) (1966) stands proudly in the centre of the garden with its striking bronze planes creating an almost electric aura. Visitors are encouraged to physically walk through the sculpture, spending time standing within it before passing through to the other side.

Hepworth cast many interactive sculptural structures in which viewers are invited to enter or pass through, allowing one to be enveloped, as if the artistic interaction is on both a physical and spiritual level. The circular cutouts further extend the level of interaction, serving as a porthole shaped portal, allowing light to spill warmth into its cool insides.

Hepworth’s lifelong love for St Ives is reflected in much of her work. Her Sea Form (Porthmeor) (1958) is tucked away in a quiet corner of the garden and is named after Porthmeor Beach, just a stone’s throw away from the museum. Its metallic swooping and twisting lines powerfully mirror a breaking wave whilst its lighter inner surface alludes to bubbling ocean froth. Hepworth was fascinated by the natural environment and spent much time studying the movement of sand and waves. She believed humans were intrinsically connected to the patterns of the natural world; like the rhythmic circularity of tides.

Sphere with Inner Form (1963) is another striking bronze sculpture hidden by the leaves of the garden’s sprawling branches. The sculpture’s beautifully rounded outer sphere contrasts with the rough and rugged inner form that exists within it. Hepworth was fascinated by forms enclosing each other and the relationship created between them, and Sphere with Inner Form epitomises this. She often pondered over the appearance of this phenomenon in nature, such as a child in the womb. The satisfying simplicity of this sculpture could be said to mirror the innate love between a mother and child; Hepworth herself had four children.

All in all, The Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden is a radiant sanctuary of nature and art, and I would recommend anyone to go and visit. I left feeling refreshed both in body and mind, and with a greater appreciation for the simplistic beauty of the natural world, and I hope you will too.