Events

On 1 March the Henry Moore Institute will host a discussion of the works of Stephen Gilbert and Jocelyn Chewitt: two artists who left London for Paris in 1946 to pursue their artistic vision. The event accompanies the first British exhibition of their work Shaping Modern Sculpture: Stephen Gilbert and Jocelyn Chewett in post-war Paris and will take place in the galleries where the work can be seen first hand.

In the immediate post-war decades Gilbert and Chewitt entered into the dialogue of British and Continental constructivism, infusing this cross-channel dialogue into their own practices as they developed their distinctive vocabularies of modern abstract sculpture.

Our discussion will take account of the dichotomous context of their work by drawing on the expertise of speakers Alistair Grieve (UEA) and Sarah Wilson (Courtauld Institute of Art). Alistair is the author of the recent book Constructed Abstract Art in England: a neglected avant-garde (Yale, 2005) and will place them in context as British artists, whilst Sarah, helps us explore their European influences. She has written widely on art in Post-War France, as well as curating exhibitions, most recently, Paris Capital of the Arts 1900-1968, at the Royal Academy in 2003.

The discussion will also range closer to home. Huddersfield Art Gallery houses an extensive collection of archive material relating to Gilbert’s architectural proposals for Huddersfield town, made in the 1950s. Robert Hall their curator brings to the discussion his knowledge of Gilbert’s work in a Yorkshire context. Finally the shows curator Jon Wood will draw on his experience of working with Stephen Gilbert to bring these works to Leeds.


The event will start at 6pm and continue until around 7.30pm. Places are free, but very limited.