Image: Hepworth Wakefield
‘Mrinalini Mukherjee: Unbound Forms – Women Sculptors of India and Bangladesh’ is on display at The Hepworth Wakefield from 23 May to 1 November 2026. Described as a major retrospective, the exhibition celebrates Mrinalini Mukherjee and women sculptors of India and Bangladesh.
The presentation includes Indian artist Mrinalini Mukherjee (1949–2015) alongside pioneering women artists identified with the early generation of modern Indian and Bangladeshi sculpture: Leela Mukherjee (1916–2002), Meera Mukherjee (1923–1998), Novera Ahmed (1939–2015) and Pilloo Pochkhanawala (1923–1986). Leela Mukherjee is identified as Mrinalini Mukherjee’s mother.
The exhibition brings these artists into dialogue for the first time in the UK. It foregrounds an interwoven history of South Asian art that has long been underrepresented within Western accounts of global modernisms.
A ‘Curators’ Talk: Mrinalini Mukherjee’ is scheduled for Saturday 5 September at 12pm. The Hepworth Wakefield’s Artistic Director Laura Smith will be in conversation with exhibition co-curator Tarini Malik. The talk will explore themes and ideas connected to Mukherjee’s practice and the wider histories of modern South Asian art foregrounded throughout ‘Mrinalini Mukherjee: Unbound Forms – Women Sculptors of India and Bangladesh’.
Tickets for the talk are listed at £20 and £18, with Members’ tickets at £10; the price includes exhibition entry. A photograph captioned on the talk page identifies ‘Mrinalini Mukherjee (1949–2015), Experiments in Khirki Studio, 1985’, photographed by Ranjit Singh and digitised by Asia Art Archive, India. Copyright is held by the Mrinalini Mukherjee Foundation.
‘Lewis Hammond: Crystal in the Shade’, also running from 23 May to 1 November 2026, is Lewis Hammond’s first museum presentation in the UK and features new paintings made specifically for The Hepworth Wakefield.
Other displays are scheduled through March 2027: ‘Modern Art and Modern Life: Highlights from Wakefield’s 20th Century Collection’, ‘Rhythm, Dance and Everything: The Body and Performance from Hepworth to Now’, and ‘A Living Collection’. ‘Modern Art and Modern Life’ includes highlights from Wakefield’s 20th-century collection of modern British art, including Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore.
Exhibition entry is listed at £13 and £11, and is free for Members, Wakefield District residents and visitors under 18. The Hepworth Wakefield is open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm.
