Aesthetica selects 10 inspiring artists and talks to see during the inaugural edition of the UK鈥檚 largest sculpture festival. Taking place across Yorkshire this summer, it pursues ideas about what constitutes sculpture.
Renowned practitioner Phyllida Barlow is the 鈥榩rovocateur鈥 for the Yorkshire Sculpture International 2019. Exploring her statement: 鈥淪culpture is the most anthropological of the art forms鈥, the festival responds to the idea that there is a basic human impulse to make and connect with objects.
鈥淔or me, making space means creating a different space, rather than making a new one.鈥 YSP鈥檚 historic chapel is re-shaped by Kimsooja鈥檚 mirrored installation. Responding to the natural environment, the room changes with the light, offering an immersive and thought-provoking experience.
Who is sculpture for? Bhabha鈥檚 cross-cultural approach opens dialogues between histories, languages and civilisations, showing the wide reach of the medium. In this discussion, the artist and wider panel will consider the importance of making in contemporary society.
Courtesy of the artist and Hauser & Wirth.
Erkmen鈥檚 eye catching site-specific intervention transforms Leeds Art Gallery鈥檚 Central Court. Three of Four (2019) is part of the artist鈥檚 ongoing investigations into ideas of place, influenced by the historical, cultural, political and geographic significance of architecture.
Through compelling black and white photographs, Piotrowska examines the complex power dynamics of human relationships. The series Frantic inhabits domestic spaces, looking to notions of the body through intriguing gestures and movements.
Festival producer Jane Bhoyroo chairs a discussion surrounding Barlow鈥檚 provocation, investigating how making objects is an inherently human act 鈥 whether for aesthetic, functional, spiritual purposes, and demonstrating the rich potential of what the medium can be.
Johnson employs a range of cultural references, including art history, literature and philosophy. These inform multidisciplinary pieces which examine issues of roots, race and identity in the US. A major new show at The Henry Moore Institute examines the responsibilities of objects.
Milk, pollen, rice, wax and marble. These are the materials used in Laib鈥檚 compositions, which employ simple forms such as cones and rectangles to visualise the concept of purity. A new piece, created for YSI, is crafted from materials found in the fields surrounding the artist鈥檚 home.
Art historian Professor Griselda Pollock 鈥 a specialist in international, postcolonial feminist studies in the visual arts 鈥 chairs a round-table exploring experiences of women working in sculpture and wider challenges related to cultural identity.
American artist David Smith was one of the most influential sculptors of the 20th century. YSP鈥檚 show comprises over 40 metal pieces, spanning from early experimental works to outdoor pieces. Each connects to ancient traditions of making and to the chronology of creativity.
YSI runs 22 June – 29 September. Read more
Lead image: Kimsooja, A Needle Woman: Galaxy was a Memory, Earth is Souvenir.
