Barry Flanagan: Follow the Hare

London, 25th September, 2024 - Baldwin is pleased to showcase six sculptured works by Irish-Welsh artist Barry Flanagan (1941-2009). Flanagan's innumerable contributions to the history of sculpture, as well as his selection as the representative of Britain at the 40th Venice Biennale in 1982 and his election to the Royal Academy of Arts and recognition with an OBE in 1991, substantiate his position as one of Britain's most important and innovative sculptors.

Flanagan, best known for his iconic bronze hares, created a body of work that defies easy categorization, blending humour, grace, and a deep engagement with both materials and form. 'Barry Flanagan: Follow the Hare' provides a rare-yet-comprehensive view of Flanagan's artistic evolution from the early 1990s through to 2009, Barry's final year.

The six works presented focus solely on Flanagan's dynamic bronze hares; works which are not just representations of animals but are imbued with human qualities; engaging in activities that challenge our perceptions of the natural and human worlds. The works highlight the whimsical and profound work of one of the most significant sculptors of the 20th century. From the playful to the profound, the works presented span a range of themes including movement, myth, and the human condition.

Born in Prestatyn, North Wales, in 1941, Flanagan studied architecture at Birmingham College of Arts and Crafts and graduated from St. Martin's School of Art in London on the Vocational Diploma in Sculpture in 1966, and he taught at St. Martin's School of Art and the Central School of Arts and Crafts between 1967 and 1971. Establishing himself as a leading figure among the avant-garde and a proponent of emerging movements like Arte Povera, Land art, Process art, and Conceptual art, Flanagan first began revolutionizing the language of sculpture and the prospects of artmaking in three dimensions while exhibiting soft sculpture and concrete poetry as a student, before his decisive turn to bronze in the 1980s. His first solo exhibition, staged at London's Rowan Gallery in 1966, was considered a critical success in numerous reviews and earned the artist widespread recognition from a generation of influential artists and thinkers including the curator Lucy Lippard.

Flanagan has since been included in solo and group exhibitions at countless museums and galleries across six continents.