Weekend visit to the Hepworth gallery wakefield

This weekend my mum came to visit to I decided to take her to the Hepworth, a gallery that I've never visited but heard lots about. The first thing that strikes you is the juxtaposition between Wakefield as an old, decaying industrial city and this exquisite piece of brutal modernist architecture. The building was designed my David Chipperfield architects and perches on the water front near a man made water feature, viewable as if floating above it via the slanted overhanging glass windows.

Pictures capturing the industrial setting and old typography on the nearby factory

The exhibitions included a large feature on Alina Szapocznikow, a Polish sculpture who worked mainly in bronze stone and plastics, taking lots of inspiration from the human form. The exhibition interested me from a personal perspective however the only real element that I felt could influence my studio practice was the signage and typography. I regret not noting down the agency/designer that created the typefaces but I was instantly struck by how the angled italic header could relate to my word for the new brief: sideling. I assume the typographer has taken inspiration from the poise and balance of her sculptures to create this clean, minimalist face that has a clear vanishing point running through its middle. The way the more standardised non serif body text then compliments the header also is a very effective piece of design. With its very narrow clinical serifs and at times fragmented lines giving it a crisp aesthetic.