West Yorkshire

When on route, take a detour or make it a destination, for this gallery is not only visually tasty from an architectural point of view, but also holds some fabulous pieces that you can inspect closely without having to peer around others to gain an appreciation of the art.

Also, what’s on offer is diverse and bound to appeal to a range of tastes; the pieces are displayed to their best advantage – with the clever use of natural light and shadow; and the shop’s a little treasure trove as well.

There are a few things you may not know about me, so before I go further….

1. And this is a biggy…I didn’t really know anything about Barbara Hepworth (sorry…) until roughly 16mths ago. Now, by no means an expert, rather a huge admirer, I spend enormous amounts of time plotting and dreaming and devising the best place to position my own Single Form on our terrace which struggles to house even the ferns.
2. For six weeks, Team Family minus one (but plus a super lovely extra-family addition), attended fortnightly (just two hours each go), a course on the London Group. So I managed to have further knowledge gaps filled and was introduced to some spectacularly talented painters and sculptors. From a very huge list, three really stood out for me, Spencer Gore, Harold Gilman and Henri Gaudier-Brzeska
3. And…I might not really understand what I’m looking at, but I’m happy to give it a try.

So why mention all this.

Well…as the name would suggest, you get a lot of Barbara Hepworth. Not just sculptures, but history, explanation of the process of casting and photographs. You also get a lot of ‘Please don’t touch’, which is really difficult not to when you are standing half an arm’s distance from the most glorious wooden beauty softly calling ‘Touch me, touch me, I know you want to’.

And bonus time, it was as if someone wished to do me a favour, for no more London Group on PowerPoint, it was there staring straight back at me.  All three of my favs are represented here and seeing them in the raw really does make for happy.

By now you are obviously itching to get off up the M1 and take a look, which is wise, however keep in mind, if you can’t leave that operating theatre or that court room just yet, try and visit before 19 March 2017 – as the first of the two exhibits/shows I enjoyed the most Anthea Hamilton reimagines Kettle’s yard finishes then and my other, The contemporary collection will end Autumn 2017.