Sheila Hicks’ first major exhibition in UK to be hosted by The Hepworth Wakefield

The Hepworth Wakefield is all set to host the works of American artist and sculptor, Sheila Hicks, under the major exhibition ‘Sheila Hicks: Off Grid’. With over 70 sculptural textile art pieces from her public and private collections adorning the spaces of the art museum, the exhibition will offer a comprehensive glimpse into the artist’s body of work. In an attempt to also understand the influences that have shaped her niche, several photographs and notebooks documenting stories and experiences from her travels will also be displayed during the five-month long exhibition.

“We are delighted to be working with Sheila Hicks to organise and present her first major retrospective in the UK. Over the past 60 years Hicks has been one of the greatest innovators in the field of sculpture, challenging traditional boundaries between art forms and using thread and textiles to create works that speak in a universal language,” says Andrew Bonacina, Chief Curator of The Hepworth Wakefield, about the contemporary artist.

Born in the year 1934 in Nebraska, USA, Hicks is one of the first artists and sculptors who began working with textile. Today, with a career spanning almost 70 years, her work consists of both small pieces made on hand-held frames and large installations that can command a bold and loud presence within a gallery. Her long career has been marked by both personal projects that were a product of experimentation and exploration, as well as pieces that she especially designed to cater to specific sites.

Almost all her works are characterised by the juxtaposition of a multitude of vibrant and contrasting colours that find balance against the uncomplicated shapes and forms of her textile sculptures. Hicks developed this distinct design language after her innings as a student at Yale from 1954 to 1959. While she was there, she studied painting under Josef Albers, while also learning from the likes of George Kubler and Anni Albers. Driven by a perpetual desire to explore, Hicks has, over the years, travelled wide and far, consequently, creating art in several countries like Chile, Mexico, Columbia, Venezuela, Brazil, India, Morocco and the USA. Although born and raised in the USA, she moved to Paris in 1964.

The exhibition ‘Sheila Hicks: Off Grid’, will serve as an attempt to narrativise her creative journey, while also exploring the influences that shaped her art and helped her evolve. By granting a peek at the sketches she drew and the photographs clicked during her travels, the curators will offer the viewers a chance to witness the vernacular traditions and local artistic techniques that influenced Hicks’ artistic transgressions and explorations.

In addition to her large body of work, the exhibition will also showcase a new installation by Hicks, created especially by her to occupy the spaces of the art gallery, which has been designed by David Chipperfield. Additionally, during the event, a book exploring Hicks’ art, published by The Hepworth Wakefield, edited by Andrew Bonacina and designed by APFEL, will also be launched.