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Tate Britain Exhibition

Barry Flanagan: Early Works 1965–1982

27 September 2011 – 2 January 2012
Barry Flanagan Tate Britain exhibition banner

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TateShots: Peter Randall-Page on Barry Flanagan

 Barry Flanagan was one of Britain’s most original and inventive artists and a key figure in the development of British and international sculpture. He is best known for the large-scale bronze hare sculptures that he began producing in the early 1980s and that can be seen in many galleries and public spaces around the world. The success of these pieces has tended to obscure the equally important and very different work that characterised his early period. Made from materials as varied as cloth, plaster, sand, hessian and rope, these works highlight a concern with material properties and processes – a concern that is at the heart of his practice.

A contemporary of Gilbert & George, Flanagan studied sculpture at St Martin’s School of Art from 1964 to 1966. The exhibition takes this period as a starting point and reveals the impact of this early work on his later development towards casting in bronze, which he began in 1979. This is the first major retrospective of Flanagan’s work in London since 1983, and by focusing on his early works, shows how this radical and imaginative artist challenged the very nature of sculpture in his time.

The exuberant early works of the British sculptor Barry Flanagan are still a delight.
The Observer

This exhibition brassily shows off the pleasure-giving unruliness of his youth.
The Independent

Time and again, we see Flanagan bringing the best out of his unpromising materials, shedding new light on traditional sculptural concerns such as weight and matter, surface and space.
Evening Standard

Barry Flanagan installation shot with hare and dog sculptures

Barry Flanagan installation shot with hare and dog sculptures

Barry Flanagan installation shot with fabric sculptures

Barry Flanagan installation shot with fabric sculptures

Tate Britain

Millbank
London SW1P 4RG
Plan your visit

Dates

27 September 2011 – 2 January 2012

Find out more

  • Flan Flanagan with Barry Zebra Toy

    'That's my dad'

    Flan Flanagan

    The daughter and assistant of the artist (from 1987 to 1998) remembers working with her father

  • Barry Flanagan standing in front of Aug

    The poet of life and sculpture

    John James

    He may be best known for his bronze hare sculptures, but Flanagan’s early work using a variety of media such as cloth, felt, clay, stone, plaster and rope, soon to be on display at Tate Britain, challenged more traditional notions of sculpture. It was as much inspired by art as his own experiences of odd jobs – from bakeries to building sites – and, as his friend recalls here, he combined his innate curiosity with people and his love of life into his art

  • Kittens playing on Barry Flanagan Oil Rising

    Meetings of minds

    Paul Levy, Andrew Dipper, Braco Dimitrijevic and Andy Holden

    Appreications from friends, fellow artists and a former pupil

  • Artist

    Barry Flanagan

    1941–2009
  • Artist

    Gilbert & George

    born 1943, born 1942
Artwork
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