Hepworth Prize for Sculpture shortlist announced

The nominees for the inaugural Hepworth Prize for Sculpture have been announced by Wakefield's Hepworth gallery.

Steven Claydon, Helen Marten, David Medalla and Phyllida Barlow make up the shortlist for the the £30,000 award, which is the UK's first dedicated prize for sculpture. Barlow presented a major solo exhibition at the Fruitmarket Gallery during the 2015 Edinburgh Art Festival – read our five-star review of the show here.

Announcing the prize, which will be awarded every two years to a UK-based artist who has made a significant contribution to the development of contemporary sculpture, Hepworth director Simon Wallis said: “We are delighted to have such a strong and diverse shortlist for our inaugural Prize and are looking forward to working with these artists and to inspire and engage our audiences with the medium of sculpture. 

"There are no shortage of prizes in the art world, however few specifically recognise sculpture. We therefore wanted to address this by launching one of the UK’s most important new awards. We have based the selection of the four shortlisted artists on the significance of their contribution to sculpture in its broadest definition.”

The winner of the Hepworth Prize for Sculpture will be announced in November; Barlow, Claydon, Marten and Medalla will present work in a joint exhibition at The Hepworth from 21 October 2016 to 22 January 2017.