HURVIN ANDERSON: SALON PAINTINGS

Hurvin Anderson (b. 1965) first painted a Birmingham-based barbershop in 2006. Over the last 15 years, Anderson has repeatedly reworked the same barbershop in a multitude of ways to explore key painting styles, shifting from figuration to abstraction, and experimenting with the classic genres of still life, landscape and portraiture.

This large solo exhibition at The Hepworth Wakefield focuses on the Barbershop series as a lens through which to understand Anderson’s wider practice and key concerns of memory, identity and nationhood.

The exhibition displays the most comprehensive presentation of the Barbershop series, from the very first work made in 2006 to the latest paintings, Skiffle, 2023 and Shear Cut, 2023, created this spring which culminate the series. Anderson’s studio drawings and related sketches are interspersed throughout the exhibition revealing the subject matter of the barbershop as one that has sustained his approach to experimentation over the past 15 years.

Alongside the Salon Paintings exhibition, Anderson has curated a display of works that will take visitors on a journey through his formative influences. This personal selection offers a unique insight into what informs and motivates Hurvin Anderson’s approach to painting.

‘One of Britain’s finest living painters’ ★★★★★ The Telegraph

‘The opportunity to see the evolution of Anderson’s exploration of the barbershop setting in one space is exceptional’ ★★★★★ The Guardian

Exhibition entry is £12 / £10 / FREE for Members, Wakefield District residents and under 18s. Ticket includes entry to all gallery spaces on the day of visit.