The artwork “Pelagos” is a sculpture created by Barbara Hepworth in 1946, exemplifying the Abstract Art movement. This particular piece is part of the collection at the Tate Gallery in London. The genre of the artwork is sculpture, through which Hepworth explores the abstract form, inviting interpretation and contemplation.
The artwork itself embodies organic curvature and flow, insinuating a sense of movement and natural form. The smooth exterior surface, likely made from a rich, polished wood, bends to create a hollowed sphere with a continuous void piercing through its center. It rests upon a flat base, ensuring stability and grounding the otherwise levitating form. A unique feature of the sculpture is the taut strings, which stretch across the hollow space, adding a tactile contrast against the smoothness of the wood and introducing a geometric element within the organic contours. The interior is painted in a light color, perhaps to reflect and emphasize the play of light within the void, creating an interplay between density and lightness, shadow and luminosity. Hepworth’s “Pelagos” stands as a testament to the abstract expression of form, space, and the intrinsic relationship between natural and structured elements.
