Evening Panel Discussion: John Hoyland and Contemporary Sculpture

A composite image showing three works of ceramic sculpture by John Hoyland, all shown on a white background. The first sculpture (on the left of the image) is called The World. It is comprised of a black globe shape resting on a flared blue pedestal. A smaller yellow globe is attached to the upper left of the black globe, a black horn protrudes from the top, and a curved brown shape comes out of of the left side of the globe. Splashes of yellow, pink and black paint adorn the whole piece.

In the centre is Hoyland's work Thupelo Memory. A pink, yellow and blue painted triangle shape rests a top a pink, oval shaped base. A pink curved shape rests behind it, snaking up to the top of the triangle. Behind that is a large pink circle shape, with a line through it. All are decorated with splodges of red and burgundy paint.

On the right is John Hoyland's work The King. A large oval shape stands on the left side of the work, painted blue with a yellow star in the centre, then blue and yellow stripes along on the outer edge. A red and blue spotted snake shape adjoins it, with one side forming into a large triangle shape.

L-R: John Hoyland, The World, 1994; John Hoyland, Thupelo Memory, 1994; John Hoyland, The King, 1994 © The John Hoyland Estate

Join us for a special evening panel discussion bringing together an acclaimed group of artists and curators to explore the broader themes of the latest exhibition at the Millennium Gallery, These Mad Hybrids.

The discussion will be chaired by art historian, curator and former director of Tate Britain, Penelope Curtis, talking with artists Olivia Bax, Anna Reading and Andrew Sabin and curator Sam Cornish from The John Hoyland Estate.

When working with ceramics Hoyland enjoyed the “unexpected colour and the possibility of introducing irony and even humour to these mad little hybrids.” In this one-off evening event, you’ll discover how prominent contemporary artists are working today with themes and ideas that Hoyland explored. You’ll hear about the role of irony and humour in contemporary sculpture and the widespread employment of colour as well as contemporary sculpture’s use of hybridity, including how hybridity has been used to disrupt conventional sculptural representations of the body, bring together diverse material and imagery, and articulate complex cultural positions in an increasingly interconnected world.

This event has been made possible thanks to funding from the Henry Moore Foundation. The exhibition will be open to view before and after the event, from 5pm and until 7.30pm. There will be a limited pay bar.

Olivia Bax (Singapore, 1988) lives and works in London. She studied BA Fine Art at Byam Shaw School of Art, London (2007-2010) and MFA Sculpture at Slade School of Fine Art, London (2014-2016). Bax was a Henry Moore Institute Research Fellow (2023); the winner of the Mark Tanner Sculpture Award (2019/20) and the Kenneth Armitage Young Sculptor Prize Winner (2016). Her work is part of private and public collections including: The Arts Council Collection, The Ingram Collection and Tremenheere Sculpture Park. Bax is a Lecturer of Fine Art at the University of Gloucestershire.

Anna Reading (Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, 1987) lives and works in London. She holds an MFA in Sculpture from the Slade School of Fine Art and a BA (Hons) in Fine Art from Central St Martins. Reading’s sculptural practice combines a wide range of processes and materials, to explore novel ecosystems and science fiction landscapes. Reading is the winner of the Mark Tanner Sculpture Award 2018-19.

Andrew Sabin (London, UK, 1959) is an experimental sculptor who lives and works in West Sussex. His activities include object making, installation, public realm work and teaching. He is co-director of the Mattblackbarn education programme.

Sam Cornish is a writer and curator. His publications include Frank Bowling: Sculpture (Ridinghouse, 2022). John Hoyland: The Last Paintings (Ridinghouse, 2021), Mali Morris: Painting (Royal Academy, 2019), Stockwell Depot 1967-79 (Ridinghouse, 2015), John Panting: Sculpture (Sansom & Co, 2012) and Robert Motherwell: Drawings (Bernard Jacobson Gallery, 2011). Amongst his exhibitions are Unreal City (Saatchi Gallery, 2024), Mali Morris: Returning (Hatton Gallery, 2024), Garth Evans Sculpture: A Place in the World (CALOSA, Mexico, 2024), These Mad Hybrids: John Hoyland and Contemporary Sculpture (RWA, Bristol, 2024), Mali Morris: Calling (Ikon Gallery, 2023), Frank Bowling: Sculpture (University of Greenwich Galleries 2022), John Hoyland: The Last Paintings (Sheffield Museums, 2021), Kaleidoscope: Colour and Sequence in 1960s British Art (Arts Council touring exhibition, 2017-18), and John Panting: Spatial Constructions (Adam Art Gallery, New Zealand, 2013).

Penelope Curtis has curated and written about modern and contemporary sculpture throughout her career and has published historical surveys and speculative essays with Oxford University Press, Yale University Press, The Getty and MACK. She has just completed an exhibition about modern carving in La Pedrera (‘The Quarry’) in Barcelona and published a novel entitled After Nora. Curtis was the director of Henry Moore Institute, Leeds, Tate Britain, London and the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, Lisbon.

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