Summer of Sculpture at Leeds Art Gallery

About

Leeds Art Gallery’s Summer of Sculpture programme features a seasonal series of exhibitions and installations featuring works by internationally recognised sculptors and contemporary artists. The programme will showcase a range of exhibitions exploring sculpture across historical and contemporary contexts.

Garth Evans: The Anti-Virus Sculptures

Running from 22 May until 4 October, The Anti-Virus Sculptures by artist Garth Evans will present more than 30 small-scale plaster sculptures created during the first Covid-19 lockdown at the artist’s home in Connecticut. Each sculpture has its own title, with visitors invited to suggest names for several unnamed works.

Evans explained that the works were created during a period of uncertainty, describing them as symbolic forms of protection during the pandemic.

Arp: The Plasters

Also opening in May is Arp: The Plasters, an exhibition celebrating the acquisition of a collection of plaster sculptures by French-German artist Jean (Hans) Arp. The works were gifted jointly to Leeds Museums and Galleries and The Hepworth Wakefield by Stiftung Arp e.V.

The exhibition will examine Arp’s use of plaster as both a sculptural medium and a creative tool. His studio practice influenced several leading British sculptors, including Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth. The exhibition will run until 4 October.

UNEARTHING(S) by Hannah Catherine Jones

UNEARTHING(S), commissioned by Yorkshire Contemporary for Leeds Art Gallery, will run from 22 May until 30 August. The exhibition marks Hannah Catherine Jones’ first exhibition in Yorkshire and her largest solo presentation to date.

Known for combining sound, sculpture and performance, Jones will use the gallery’s Central Court space to explore themes of grief, regeneration and identity, drawing on her experiences growing up within Yorkshire’s Caribbean diaspora.

Dinner Party Exhibition

From 26 June 2026 until 6 February 2027, visitors will also be able to see Dinner Party, an exhibition bringing together works by Matthew Smith, Jacob Epstein and contemporary artist Olivia Bax.

The exhibition revisits a pioneering display originally organised during the Second World War at Temple Newsam House by Philip Hendy, former director of Leeds City Art Gallery. The presentation will combine Smith’s paintings, Epstein’s bronze sculptures and Bax’s colourful contemporary assemblages.

Celebrating Sculpture in Yorkshire

Jane Bhoyroo, Principal Keeper at Leeds Art Gallery, described the programme as a major moment for sculpture in Leeds, bringing together historic and contemporary works from internationally significant artists.

Leeds Art Gallery is home to one of the UK’s leading collections of twentieth-century British art, including sculpture by artists such as Phyllida Barlow, Anthony Gormley, Hew Locke, Mike Nelson, Veronica Ryan and Alison Wilding.

The gallery is also part of Yorkshire Sculpture International, alongside Henry Moore Institute, The Hepworth Wakefield and Yorkshire Sculpture Park. The Summer of Sculpture programme forms part of wider collaborative plans celebrating sculpture across Yorkshire in 2027.

Visitor Information

• The Anti-Virus Sculptures: 22 May to 4 October
• Arp: The Plasters: 22 May to 4 October
• UNEARTHING(S): 22 May to 30 August
• Dinner Party: 26 June 2026 to 6 February 2027

All exhibitions will take place at Leeds Art Gallery as part of the Summer of Sculpture programme.

image: Jean (Hans) Arp, Gesticulating 1964 (plaster between 1964–72), Gift of the Stiftung Arp e. V., Berlin, 2024. Photo: Rüdiger Lubricht, Worpswede