The Hepworth Wakefield: Take a sneak peak Hurvin Anderson's latest exhibition as it prepares to open to the public

The exhibition, Salon Paintings, will focus on Anderson’s Barbershop series as a lens through which to understand Anderson’s wider practice and unique sense of history, memory and place.

Anderson first painted a Birmingham-based barbershop in 2006.

And for more than 15 years, the artist has repeatedly reworked the same barbershop in a multitude of ways to experiment with key concerns in modern and contemporary painting, such as the tension between abstraction and figuration, and the painterly possibilities of capturing memories and experiences.

On display will be some of the most political works within this series, such as Is it OK to be Black? (2015), which was a 70th Anniversary Commission for the Arts Council Collection with New Art Exchange, Nottingham and Thomas Dane Gallery.

This work includes depictions of significant figures in the Civil Rights Movement, Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, whose ideas and legacy remain important in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement.

The title responds to a mis-hearing of the typical barbershop question ‘is it OK at the back?’ and highlights the underlying social context of the barbershop.

About the exhibition, Hurvin Anderson said: ‘I am looking forward to unveiling the final works in the Barbershop series at The Hepworth Wakefield.

"The Barbershop is a subject that I have returned to throughout my career, as a site that was a point of connection to Caribbean culture.

“In repeating the image, deconstructing it and putting it back together again, the series has also become a meditative exploration of painting itself.

“Presenting this series alongside Hurvin Anderson Curates feels like the perfect moment to pause and reflect on how I reached this point, considering influences, references and conversations with British painters past and present.”

Alongside the Salon Paintings exhibition, Anderson has curated an exhibition of Modern British painting that will take visitors on a journey through his formative influences and highlight visual conversations between these works.

On display will be paintings from throughout the 20th century to the present day which reveal points of dialogue with his own practice, including work by Michael Andrews, Frank Auerbach, Francis Bacon, Sonia Boyce, Patrick Caulfield, Prunella Clough, Duncan Grant, Denzil Forrester, Claudette Johnson, Leon Kossoff, Therese Lessore, Walter Sickert, Stanley Spencer and more.

Eleanor Clayton, senior curator at The Hepworth Wakefield, said: ‘Hurvin Anderson is one of the most captivating painters working in Britain today.

"His works manage to be both visually beautiful and poetically poignant, capturing moments of experience and asking questions about memory and identity through his unique process of image-making. It is a huge honour to show for the first time the final works of his most celebrated series.

"We are grateful to Hurvin for his generosity in revealing his layered and intricate processes – something we know will be fascinating to our audiences and hope will encourage and inspire young and aspiring artists.”

The exhibition runs until November 5.