WAKEFIELD.- The Hepworth Wakefield announces a new installation by Turner Prize nominee Anthea Hamilton, entitled Kettle’s Yard Reimagined: Anthea Hamilton.
Anthea Hamilton reinstalled the existing presentation of Kettle’s Yard at The Hepworth Wakefield, on display at the gallery for 12 months while Kettle’s Yard is closed for a major building project.
Hamilton studied BA (Hons) Fine Art and graduated from Leeds Beckett University (formerly Leeds Metropolitan University) in 2000. Her ambitious installation exhibits for the first time, a series of new works, created in response to works from the Kettle’s Yard Collection.
Anthea Hamilton said: “Kettle’s Yard is a very special place, I find it graceful in every way. It touches us personally with its attention to domestic detail whilst being a comprehensive history of British Modernism, an education at every turn. Bringing these selected objects to the galleries of The Hepworth Wakefield is the most incredible of invitations.”
Simon Wallis, Director of The Hepworth Wakefield and exhibition co-curator said: “Eight years ago I curated Anthea’s first major solo UK show at Chisenhale Gallery and it’s wonderful to be working with her again and to realise this exciting new installation within the context of the David Chipperfield-designed gallery spaces of The Hepworth Wakefield.”
Andrew Nairne, Kettle’s Yard Director said: “We are excited to see how Anthea Hamilton will use and re-present our renowned collection of 20th Century British and international artists in The Hepworth Wakefield's beautiful gallery spaces. While Kettle’s Yard is undergoing a major building project at its home in Cambridge, we have a rare opportunity to share our permanent collection with other galleries and spaces. We are delighted to join with The Hepworth Wakefield in supporting and working with one of the UK’s most talented contemporary artists on this special exhibition.”
Based on her research into the art and objects of the Kettle’s Yard Collection, Hamilton reappropriates objects, using unexpected details as starting points for new works. For example, the artist created a functional cabinet to display objects from Kettle’s Yard, while a painting by Christopher Wood has inspired a new ‘Kimono’ piece, which is the most recent in a series of kimonos Hamilton has created.
Many of the works on display have a suggestive function, whether a desk on which to write, or a piece of clothing that might be worn. Domestic objects such as newly-woven carpets and a staircase are being used as alternative modes of display for objects in the house. Hamilton also brought the grand piano from Kettle’s Yard into the gallery as part of the installation and a monthly programme of live performances will mirror the tradition of regular concerts in the house at Kettle’s Yard, established by its founder Jim Ede.
Significantly, Hamilton has invited several British and international artists, with whom she has either previously worked, or whose work is important to her, to contribute to the new installation. These include: French artist Laëtitia Badaut Haussmann; British artist Nicholas Byrne; Latvian artist Ella Kruglyanskaya, German artist Daniel Sinsel and the celebrated American photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. This collaborative approach reflects Hamilton’s interest in echoing the way that Jim Ede assembled the collection, with objects and art works acquired through his friends and acquaintances.
The installation fundamentally explores Hamilton’s interest in how our environment shapes the way we see objects and our understanding and experience of art. The careful arrangement of art and objects in Kettle’s Yard as outlined in Jim Ede’s book, A Way of Life (a written and photographic document of each detail and aesthetic relationship in Kettle’s Yard) resonates with Hamilton’s own interest in the choreographing of space and objects. Her installations often resemble stage sets that engage visitors with imagined narratives incorporating references drawn from the worlds of art, fashion, design and cinema.
