Hepworth Gallery

Taken me a few attempts to get in here as I kept getting days wrong etc.
It was worth it though. The space itself is excellent. Beautiful lighting in all the rooms we went to and a great sense of space. The Barbara Hepworth material on show is outstanding and it was fascinating to read more about her. Quite a lot of other stuff there too which changes constantly. I didn’t like the Franz West pieces on show but then it’s impossible to please everyone with every exhibit — and besides, I’m reviewing the place itself not the temporary content.
One thing I thought was brilliant as the design of the gallery itself. Vast windows offer great views across the river, weir and bridge and these have been carefully sited to get the best possible view of the water rushing past. The silence that accompanies this works really well and was an interesting part of the set up.
We had a simple but tasty meal in the cafeteria — sausages and mash is easy to get right but I’ve known many places get it wrong! The gift shop is full of interesting stuff that is both good to look at as well as being educational. Whoever runs that has bought stock with a lot of care which is great to see.
And as the place is free to get into it’s terrific value too. We spent a very enjoyable couple of hours looking round and I know I’d like to visit it again. Worth the trip.

New flagship £50+million gallery to house Wakefield’s collection plus recent Barbara Hepworth donations, Ben Nicholson etc. Also changing visiting exhibitions.
The building (Chipperfield) is impressive and the interior gallery spaces couldn’t be better — reminicent of a better 21^st century Hayward Gallery — beautifully lit naturally from above, with panoramic vistas through large strategically placed windows within the gallery.
If you are a Hepworth afficianado you might enjoy the insight these plasters and maquettes bring to her story along with the contextualising work of some of her St Ives cronies. I however could have screamed for some work of better quality and range from a greater spectrum of artists. The emphasis on sculpture works well being so close to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, but YSP do it better.
The café is a joke queuing 31minutes for an Americano!
Once Wakefield Council make a mess of running it, It will be brilliant when Tate take it over as a provincial extension to Tate Modern!