The Hepworth Wakefield and Thames & Hudson publish first ever critical biography of Helen Chadwick
14 May 2025
Helen Chadwick: Life Pleasures, edited by Laura Smith, The Hepworth Wakefield's Director of Collection and Exhibition, with Farah Dailami, Assistant Curator, is published today by Thames & Hudson to coincide with the opening of the exhibition of the same name.
The first critical biography of the pioneering feminist artist, who died tragically young but whose thinking around themes of eroticism, excess, transgression and disgust, has arguably become even more relevant today.
Artist Helen Chadwick embraced the sensuous aspects of the natural world, breaking taboos of the ‘traditional’ or ‘beautiful’. Provocative, punky, seductive and often steeped in humour, Chadwick’s meticulously-made sculptures, performances and photographs in sensuous yet sometimes seemingly grotesque materials – raw meat, flowers, bodily fluids and chocolate amongst others – reflect upon the materiality and fluidity of the natural world and conventional notions of beauty.
Chadwick was a force to be reckoned with and quickly became a leading figure amongst Britain’s post- war avant-garde, becoming one of the first women to be nominated for the Turner Prize. A dedicated teacher, she mentored the majority of the group of artists now known as the Young British Artists at art schools across London. She was also involved in the artistic community at Beck Road, Hackney, whose residents included Maureen Paley, Richard Deacon, and Genesis P-Orridge.
Although Chadwick was widely exhibited during her lifetime, attention to her work declined following her unexpected death in 1996, and it is only relatively recently that the significance of her work has been acknowledged afresh.
Coinciding with a major retrospective opening on Saturday 17 May at The Hepworth Wakefield, this new biography spans the breadth of her practice, from her renowned MA degree show In the Kitchen (1977) through to her seminal Piss Flowers (1991–2).
This fitting tribute contains insightful essays and contributions from artists, writers and friends – including Marina Warner, Anya Gallacio, Peter Gabriel, and Louisa Buck – to trace Chadwick’s origins, her art and ideas, her fastidious research processes, and her vital impact on social and cultural history.
‘Helen Chadwick’s work was of its time and it’s also beyond its time,
it lives on in ours. It needs to be spread, dispersed, exhibited, responded to and put in a dialogue with work from all periods and all cultures’ Louisa Buck
Contributors
Laura Smith is the Director of Collection and Exhibitions at The Hepworth Wakefield. She was previously curator at Whitechapel Gallery, London and Tate. She writes extensively on modern and contemporary art, recently contributing to the publications Revisiting Modern British Art and The Virginia Woolf Reader, as well as many artists’ monographs.
Farah Dailami is Curatorial Assistant at The Hepworth Wakefield. Marina Warner is an English historian, mythographer, art critic, novelist and short story writer. Maria Christoforidou is an artist, writer and researcher. Philomena Epps is a writer, art critic and researcher. Katrin Bucher Trantow is the Chief Curator of the Kunsthaus Graz. Louisa Buck is a writer and broadcaster on contemporary art.
David Notarius has worked as a railroad brakeman and fireman, merchant seaman, radio programmer, farmer, artist-technician and artist. He was Helen Chadwick’s partner and collaborator.
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