INSIDER art
Art scene
If you have paid a visit to Wakefield in Yorkshire recently, you might have spotted some additions. Wakefield Council, in collaboration with The Hepworth Wakefield and Yorkshire Sculpture Park, is unveiling a series of new monumental site-specific sculptures by artists such as Annie Morris, Halima Cassell and Jason Wilsher-Mills. Public artwork is not new – statues have adorned streets since ancient times – but its current emphasis dates from after the Second World War when, on a mission to beautify the Essex new town of Harlow, the founders of Harlow Art Trust declared that high-quality art should be part of the social fabric of everyday life. Some of the greatest artists of the 20th century – Henry Moore, Elisabeth Frink, Barbara Hepworth, Leon Underwood– created pieces for Harlow’s parks, shopping centres and office plazas, and new works are still being added (sculpturetown.uk). In Wakefield, the contemporary commissions can be found at Westgate train station, outside the library and in The Hepworth Wakefield’s garden designed by Tom Stuart-Smith (featured in the November 2022 issue of House & Garden). In London, two of Nick Hornby’s latest works have been installed, opposite St James’s Park tube station and on a residential street in Kensington. ‘Our environment affects everything, from our mood to our morals,’ he says. Pictured (from top) Not in Anger, 1979 , Leon Underwood. Power over others is Weakness disguised as Strength, 2023 , Nick Hornby
