Hurvin Anderson: Salon Paintings

Hurvin Anderson first painted a Birmingham-based barbershop in 2006 and has continued to return to same scene over the past 15 years, reinterpreting his subject in different styles and mediums. Bringing together a selection of works from this ongoing series, the Hepworth Wakefield (26 May–5 November) explores how they reflect on personal and national identity. Sketches, drawings and 3D models of the barbershop, based on photographs, allow an insight into his process; the show also considers his work in relation to key influences such as Michael Andrews, Francis Bacon and Leon Kossoff. Highlights include Is it Ok to Be Black? (2015), which depicts posters of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X pinned on the walls of the salon, and Miss Jamaica (2021), a pared-back composition which combines squares of yellow and black on the wall with a small green pot plant – a nod to the colours of the Jamaican flag. The show also includes a new addition to the Barbershop series; begun in 2022, this is the largest (and final) painting in the series. Find out more on the Hepworth Wakefield’s website.

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