Gender and art

Hauser & Wirth is proud to present Phyllida Barlow’s ‘GIG’, the inaugural exhibition at Hauser & Wirth Somerset. Following Barlow’s critically acclaimed Duveen Galleries Commission ‘dock’ at Tate Britain, ‘GIG’ comprises an entirely new body of work created in response to the architecture and surrounding landscape of Hauser & Wirth Somerset. Occupying the 18th-century Threshing Barn, adjoining farm buildings, outdoor spaces and one of the new galleries, Barlow’s dense and exuberant sequence of installations celebrates the rejuvenation of Durslade Farm that lay derelict and unoccupied prior to its recent conversion into an arts centre.

Since the late 1960s, British artist Phyllida Barlow has focused on the physical experience of handling materials, which she transforms through layering, accumulation and juxtaposition. Barlow’s direct and practical processes of making utilise readily available materials such as cardboard, cement and plaster, polystyrene, timber and paint. Barlow’s sculptural practice is grounded in an anti-monumental tradition and is concerned with the relationship between objects and the space that surrounds them.

Phyllida Barlow - GIG

15 July – 2 November 2014, Hauser & Wirth Somerset

The scale of the thing is enormous. It is strong, it is bold. Inspired by Tate Britain’s position near the Thames it fills the Duveen Galleries with material in complete contrast to the classical lines but, oddly, it still complements the surroundings.  If it had been constructed by a man, it might have been called masculine but it has not; it is by a women and it proves that women can be every bit as daring. Look out at the exhibits in the nearby galleries and it makes everything else look rather tame.[...]"

Dock runs until 19 October, admission free.

http://www.tate.org.uk/search/barlow%20dock