Our past exhibitions

A Living Collection showcases the many new and recent acquisitions that have joined Wakefield's art collection.

A survey exhibition of one of Britain’s foremost ceramicists, Elizabeth Fritsch (b.1940). The exhibition will bring together over 100 works made between the 1970s and 2013 drawn largely from the artist’s own rarely-seen private collection. It will explore Fritsch’s extraordinary forms, techniques and influences across four decades of her career.

In conversation with The Hepworth Wakefield's Interim Artist Director, Laura Smith, Freije will discuss how she creates her life-sized figures, the dynamic staging that is cinematic in both effect and its references, and how her practice is deeply reflective of her interest in literature.

Artist and author Edmund de Waal has curated the first major exhibition of acclaimed Danish ceramicist Axel Salto, considered one of the greatest masters of 20th-century ceramic art.

★★★★ The Guardian
One of 'the exhibitions you must see in 2025' Art Fund

This major retrospective - the first in over 25 years - will chart the development of Chadwick’s art from her renowned degree show piece In the Kitchen (1977) through to her Piss Flowers (1991–2).

'The stunning parenting paintings every mother should see.' ★★★★★ The Guardian

Caroline Walker: Mothering will bring together works made over the past five years with new paintings Walker will make for the exhibition exploring themes of motherhood and early-years care.

Drawing from Wakefield's art collection, Resonant Forms explores the dynamic relationship between visual art, music and sound, and reveals how artists across generations have embraced rhythm, harmony and resonance in their work.

Louise Giovanelli is a Manchester-based artist who is known for her large-scale paintings that capture short-lived and sensual moments using beautifully crafted textures and vivid colour. Giovanelli will be creating a new body of work for this solo exhibition at The Hepworth Wakefield.

Take a journey through 100 years of surreal landscapes and encounter artists including Leonora Carrington, Salvador Dalí, Lee Miller and Pablo Picasso alongside contemporary artists inspired by Surrealism.

A Living Collection address contemporary issues, shift historic imbalances in Wakefield's are collection or enrich narratives explored by artists in shifting contexts. Artists on display include Jadé Fadojutimi, Jake Grewal, Lewis Hammond and Bronwyn Katz alongside sculptures by Barbara Hepworth.