‘I wanted to refresh completely my attitude to sculpture.’ Phyllida Barlow discusses her exhibition ‘tilt’ at Hauser & Wirth New York, 22nd Street, and how it marks a new stage in her practice.
For more than fifty years, the British artist has created sculptures and large-scale installations using a direct and intuitive process of making. She transforms humble, readily available materials through layering, accumulation, and juxtaposition, often drawing inspiration from her urban surroundings to reference construction debris, architecture, signs, fences, and discarded objects.
Following Barlow’s critically acclaimed presentation at the British Pavilion for the 2017 Venice Biennale, ‘tilt’ is an exhibition featuring recent large-scale works installed for the first time alongside more than a dozen smaller sculptures. Together, the works on view encourage an intimate encounter between object and viewer, continuing a career-long exploration into the ways in which sculpture can dissolve boundaries between realms of experience.
‘ I’m always seeking that surprise. Something where the work fights back and begins to take me on a journey, rather than me controlling that journey.’
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‘tilt’ is on view at Hauser & Wirth New York, 22nd Street from 14 November – 22 December 2018. Nearby, ‘prop’ remains on view through March 2019 on the High Line at 16th Street.
