OFF GRID by Sheila Hicks

Description:

Sheila Hicks202249Hepworth Wakefield1950David ChipperfieldTom Stuart-Smith70

Andrew BonacinaAbi ShapiroJo ApplinJennifer HiggieCharles Darwent

Published on the occasion of the exhibition Sheila Hicks: Off Grid at The Hepworth Wakefield (2022) which celebrated the first career-wide survey of American artist Sheila Hicks, one of the world's foremost artists working with fibre and textiles.

The exhibition explored the diversity of materials, forms and processes in Hicks' work, always challenging the boundaries between art, architecture and design. Off Grid evokes the various ways in which Hicks has flouted convention and defiantly followed her own path throughout her life and career. It conjures the grid of the woven textile itself that Hicks challenged the moment she started exploring woven forms. It also alludes to a restlessness and curiosity that has seen her travel and work across the globe, enriching her knowledge of textiles and driving the innovation in her own work.

This publication includes essays by Andrew Bonacina, Chief Curator at The Hepworth Wakefield; Dr. Jo Applin, Professor in the History of Art at the Courtauld Institute of Art; Dr. Abi Shapiro, Assistant Curator at The Hepworth Wakefield; writers Jennifer Higgie and Charles Darwent; and a conversation between Sheila Hicks and Sir David Chipperfield. The book is richly illustrated with plates of works included in the show, installation views of the exhibition at The Hepworth Wakefield and a rich selection of archival material including sketchbooks and photography by Hicks.