Curved Forms (Pavan)

Mediums: patinated plaster on an aluminum armature.
Location: The Tate Gallery (London, the UK).

In 1956, Barbara Hepworth developed a new way of working with sculpture, which she used to create this composition. Instead of the usual method of carving or hollowing out, the sculptor applied plaster to a frame made of aluminum reinforcement, slowly increasing volumes and giving her creation the necessary shape. Hepworth compared this process to a skeleton that is gradually covered with muscles and skin. Due to the increase in the space between its elements, the sculpture turned out to be more elegant and dynamic, its interlocking rounded lines resemble a complex biological shape, and the perfect balance of all the details creates a feeling of magnificent flying grace that defies the laws of gravity.