Of stone and wood: sculptor Barbara Hepworth steps out of Henry Moore’s shadow - The Guardian

Almost half a century after her death, the prolific British artist, whose ‘holes’ in sculptures changed abstract art, has her first major exhibition in Australia.

Attenders wind their way through the maze, backdropped by black and white photographs of Hepworth at work.

Hepworth’s famous stringed sculptures, one woman observes to her friend, cast shadows on the walls, but in the shadows, only the “eye” is visible – the strings disappear.

It’s the first time Hepworth’s work has been shown in a major exhibition in Australia, and includes more than 40 works from national, international and private collections – a fraction of the 600-odd sculptures in the prolific late British artist’s oeuvre.

This major survey is significant, especially considering the way in which Hepworth was overlooked in her lifetime.

It’s fascinating seeing the patterns and themes within Hepworth’s cerebral work, particularly within the select paintings and drawings exhibited – two-dimensional sketches that are, Harding clarifies, not preparatory prototypes for the sculptures but rather an exploration of similar ideas.

As Hepworth wrote: “The colour in the concavities plunged me into the depth of water, caves, or shadows deeper than the carved concavities themselves.

What is particularly striking about this exhibition, and Hepworth’s work in general, is the sense of intimacy – her presence is keenly felt here, as she herself carried out all parts of the sculpting, from idea to execution

“The artist’s hand is evident in Hepworth’s work,” Harding says