Opening in May 2023, The Hepworth Wakefield will present a major solo exhibition of paintings and drawings by Hurvin Anderson focusing on Anderson’s Barbershop series as a lens through which to understand the artist’s wider practice and unique sense of history, memory and place. 

Hurvin Anderson produces large scale paintings that draw on the genres of still life, landscape and portraiture to explore how notions of identity can manifest through geometric composition and vibrant colours. Anderson’s practice touches upon his Jamaican heritage as well as referencing wider art history to create a unique sense of place and identity.

The exhibition will feature new works and celebrate the artist’s oeuvre through the most comprehensive presentation of the Barbershop series, from the very first painting and initial studio drawings made in 2006 to a new large-scale drawing and new painting begun in 2022.

On display will be some of the most political works within this series, such as Is it OK to be Black?, 2015, which was a 70th Anniversary Commission for the Arts Council Collection with New Art Exchange, Nottingham and Thomas Dane Gallery. This work includes depictions of significant figures in the Civil Rights movement, Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, whose ideas and legacy remain important in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement.

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