Apollo 1951

Curator: This is Dame Barbara Hepworth's "Apollo," a metal wire sculpture rising from a concrete base. Isn't it striking? Editor: Strikingly cold, actually. The raw concrete anchors the airy wireframe, but the overall impression is…industrial. What was she going for here? Curator: I think she’s capturing the god's essence, not his image. It’s so spare, so minimal – just the suggestion of form. The wire itself creates a sense of lightness, of reaching. Editor: Lightness achieved through labor, though. Bending metal like this, embedding it—that's skilled work. It’s almost a collaboration between artist and material. Curator: Yes, and the materials are in such contrast to each other, so it is a conversation! It asks us to consider form, what we make of material, and who creates the art we see. Editor: A thought-provoking combination of the ethereal and the earthy. It makes you think about the art’s context, what and who it’s made of. Curator: Indeed. A fascinating dance between idea and object.