Icon
Barbara Hepworth
Icon
1957
Many of Barbara Hepworth's sculptures refer directly to her home landscape of Cornwall. However, in 1954, she visited Greece and was struck by the solitude of the landscape. She made a series of drawings at locations such as Delphi, Delos and Mycenae, which formed studies for new sculptures.
Hepworth spoke of the resultant forms that she created as her 'experience' of places. In its careful rendering, her work Icon smoothly conveys the experience of its inspiration, as well as of its making. It is carved from solid mahogany and polished to a lustrous shine. Wood and stone carving were essential processes in Barbara Hepworth's sculptural practice; she found that harder materials presented both resistance and character to be grappled with.
Image credit: Barbara Hepworth, Icon, 1957. Arts Council Collection, Southbank Centre, London © Bowness