Fragment 1971

Curator: This is "Fragment" by Dame Barbara Hepworth. Although undated, it is held within the Tate Collections. What strikes you most about this piece? Editor: Its earth-toned background and the stark white geometric shapes create a sense of tension, a fragmented whole struggling to coalesce. Curator: Hepworth's exploration of form through abstraction emerged powerfully in a post-war Britain grappling with its own identity. These shapes feel familiar in Hepworth’s broader body of sculptural work. Editor: Absolutely. These shapes are also evocative of the modernist drive to deconstruct and rebuild—a parallel to social and political reform movements. Curator: Hepworth, along with other artists, was consciously trying to create something new, pushing against the established artistic norms. Editor: And that's where the tension comes from: a rejection of the past while simultaneously building upon it, using its fragments. Curator: Thinking about it in that way adds another layer to Hepworth's process. Editor: It gives me a new appreciation for the piece's complexity.