Involute

Currently not on view

Involute

Modeled in plaster 1956; cast in bronze 1956

Barbara Hepworth (English, 1903–1975)

Barbara Hepworth sought to make abstract art that builds on nature’s sensual forms. Her deployment of an involute—a spiral curve that can be observed in organisms across the biological world, from leaves to mollusk shells—underlines an intuition that applies to her sculpture more broadly: in order to discover new forms of sculpture it is necessary to dispense with the direct imitation of nature, which could only produce a fragmentary, second-hand reproduction of the world. This sculpture was executed by casting an armature consisting of plaster over bent aluminum sheet.

Currently not on view

Object Details

Title:

Involute

Date:

Modeled in plaster 1956; cast in bronze 1956

Artist:

Barbara Hepworth (English, 1903–1975)

Medium:

Bronze with green patina; polished wood base

Dimensions:

6 7/8 × 7 1/2 × 5 1/2 inches (17.5 × 19.1 × 14 cm) With base: 8 3/8 × 7 1/2 × 6 5/8 inches (21.3 × 19.1 × 16.8 cm)

Classification:

Sculpture

Credit Line:

The Albert M. Greenfield and Elizabeth M. Greenfield Collection, 1974

Accession Number:

1974-178-7

Geography:

Made in England, Europe

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Currently not on view