The Hepworth Prize for Sculpture shortlist 2018 is announced

The Hepworth Wakefield has announced the five artists who have made it on to the shortlist for this year’s The Hepworth Prize for Sculpture.

Michael Dean, Mona Hatoum, Phillip Lai, Magali Reus and Cerith Wyn Evans were nominated by a panel of judges including the gallery’s director Simon Wallis and chief curator Andrew Bonacina.

Simon Wallis commented: “We successfully established The Hepworth Prize for Sculpture to encourage debate about what sculpture is by exploring it in its broadest definition. I’m delighted that this shortlist continues the strengths of the inaugural Hepworth Prize for Sculpture in representing artists at different yet pivotal stages in their careers. The artists selected this year will again present a broad spectrum of experiences and concerns in their work. It will be a highly engaging and memorable exhibition by some of the key sculptors now working in the UK.”

The biennial award, which comes with £30,000, recognises British or UK-based artists contributing to and developing contemporary sculpture. The shortlisted artists will have their work shown in an exhibition at The Hepworth Wakefield which will open 26 October and run until January 2019. The winner will be announced in November.

Michael Dean, who was previously shortlisted for the Turner Prize in 2016, said, “I can’t even start to speak of what Hepworth means to me as an artist but I’m properly chuffed to have the chance to contribute to the fucking amazing work The Hepworth Wakefield is doing.”