Somerset, U.K.
Over the course of a long career, Phyllida Barlow consistently challenged the possibilities of making with pieces that were experimental, audacious, and even seemingly impossible. In “Phyllida Barlow. unscripted” (on view through January 5, 2025), works straddle the floor, pierce the walls, and hang precariously from the ceiling, startling, beguiling, and confusing the viewer. The exhibition, which marks the 10th anniversary of Hauser & Wirth Somerset, features signature elements from previous installations, freestanding and wall-mounted sculptures, maquettes, drawings, and paintings—many created during the last three years of the artist’s life and never seen before.
The “PRANK” series (2022–23)—a group of steel, fiberglass, and lacquer sculptures appearing for the first time in the U.K.—animates Hauser & Wirth’s Oudolf Field. In each of the seven works, an ungainly, yet acrobatic rabbit-like form clambers over a stacked construction, attempting to reach the top. The rabbit is a cultural touchstone of long standing: in Western art, it finds a place in everything from early Medieval painting to Modernist sculpture; in literature, there is the anthropomorphic rabbit of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, as well as the ghoulish rabbit of the cult movie Donnie Darko. In “PRANK,” Barlow’s long-eared, white creations make for a satisfying odyssey into a world of illusion and imagination. Individually titled jinx, hoax, jape, truant, mimic, stunt, and antic, these works allude to a wider concern in her practice—sculpture’s phantom-like ability to substitute for an original narrative. The effect is playful, in that the forms are buoyant and joyous, while their positioning in the natural light of the field is perfectly executed.
Inside the Rhoades Gallery, events take a darker turn, with a range of elements originally conceived for “folly” (2017), Barlow’s acclaimed British Pavilion exhibition at the 57th Venice Biennale. When the artist was a child, her father took her to war-damaged areas of London, and this gallery reflects on her preoccupation with the forces of destruction and reconstruction in nature and society. The somber vertical and horizontal elements instill a feeling of angst, their towering presence acting as a latent threat. Entrance and exit are unclear, and the works become an obstacle for the viewer to navigate, thereby heightening the notion of impending doom. Yet everything is an illusion: the impenetrable pillars, arches, and careering rocks—not as heavy or menacing as they first appear—are only phantoms made of polystyrene, wire netting, polyurethane expanding foam, fabric, and scrim.
Two of Barlow’s last works, untitled: hollow and untitled: modernsculpture, (both 2022), are displayed in the Bourgeois Gallery, alongside a remake of shedmesh (1975–2020)—a seminal piece created when Barlow was investigating the legacy of British and European postwar sculpture. The juxtaposition of untitled: hollow and untitled: hollow ii (2022) offers a moment of revelation, demonstrating the interconnectedness of her two- and three-dimensional practice. untitled: hollow ii, an acrylic work on paper, is vibrantly colored and self-contained, whereas the sculpture untitled: hollow takes the form of a bleached husk that seemingly levitates from its supine position in an act of outright rebellion. This gallery also includes object for the television (1994), a pair of white ears atop a television set, which links somewhat poignantly to her final pieces in “PRANK.”
The exhibition title, “unscripted,” refers to Barlow’s inherently experimental approach. The act of making, for her, was an adventure, with process as important as the finished piece. There were periods in Barlow’s life when her principal activity took place in the studio: during her teaching career and, more recently, during the Covid lockdowns. The Pigsty Gallery gathers many of the recent studio-based works, including untitled: scowl, untitled: flash, untitled: slit, and untitled: pinkscrap (all 2021). After her highly performative Venice Biennale show, Barlow gravitated toward creating smaller, leaner works that “reclaimed the idea of the single object.” Standalone pieces, wall-mounted and seen alongside maquettes, are also featured, thereby offering a glimpse into the private realm of the studio.
Barlow was directly involved in the staging of many of her exhibitions, and “unscripted” is particularly affecting for her absence. The “PRANK” series—so fresh, exciting, and unexpected—leaves one wanting more, despite knowing that no more will ever ensue. Yet Barlow has left an indelible mark on the canon of British and international sculpture, with a vast body of work that will continue to inform the practice of future generations of artists.
