The Hepworth Wakefield
Anthea Hamilton (b.1978, London, UK) is based in London. Recent solo-exhibitions include LET’S GO, Bloomberg SPACE, London, UK (2013); Sorry I’m Late, firstsite, Colchester, UK (2012); Les Modules, Foundation Pierre Bergé–Yves Saint Laurent, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France (2012); Gymnasium, Chisenhale Gallery, London (2008).
Hamilton explores the nature of images through surreal juxtapositions and appropriations of mass media tropes, often relating to cinema and art history. The Leg Chair series features perspex cut-outs of the artist’s own flexed legs combined with a variety of found images or materials. Hamilton’s Leg Chair not only relates to her own body but also raises questions regarding the role of the female body within art history and popular culture, thereby echoing the prominent themes explored within Barbara Hepworth’s work. Leg Chair is also of particular interest to The Hepworth Wakefield due to its incorporation of plaster, a medium that is historically associated with the representation of idealised forms of beauty and therefore resonates with the museum’s current research project into the use of the material within their collection.
Hamilton’s sculptural collages are also reflected in her prints. Manarch Pasta recalls the appropriations and engagements with consumer media and advertising, which characterised early British Pop art, a key element in The Hepworth Wakefield’s collection.
Anthea Hamilton is an artist whose career the curators of The Hepworth Wakefield have followed with interest but who was not yet represented in the museum’s collection. The acquisition of Leg Chair and Manarch Pasta represents different aspects of Hamilton’s artistic practice and contributes to the beginning of a fruitful relationship between the museum and the artist.
Presented by the Contemporary Art Society, 2015