About the exhibition
Ronald Moody: Sculpting Life brings the work of the Jamaican-born, West London–based sculptor back to the city where he lived, worked and carved for more than half a century. Touring from The Hepworth Wakefield, this major exhibition showcases the breadth of Moody’s practice across sculpture, poetry, writing and audio broadcasts. The show offers an expansive view of one of the most important yet historically overlooked artists of the twentieth century.
Moody’s story is one of continual reinvention. Trained initially in dentistry, his encounters with Egyptian sculpture in the British Museum led him to teach himself carving. He developed a sculptural language that blended Modernism, spirituality and a deep engagement with global mythologies. From the wooden figures he made in the 1930s to his post‑war experimentation with concrete and resin, Moody’s practice reveals a lifelong commitment to exploring human experience through form, rhythm and material.
The exhibition traces this journey in full, from his early London and Paris years to the wartime period that shaped some of his most striking work.
‘Anything I do, I have to feel as well. It’s a kind of feeling and seeing in one…’
Ronald Moody interview with Sylvia Moore, 1977
The exhibition also features Legacy Projects, a programme of contemporary artist commissions created for Orleans House Gallery. New works by Kedisha Coakley, Dexter McLean and Kat Francois respond to Moody’s ideas and artistic legacy, continuing a conversation about his place within British and international art history today.
More Moody resources:
Ronald Moody Timeline | The Hepworth Wakefield
Ronald Moody: Sculpting Life Audio Guide | The Hepworth Wakefield
Ronald Moody List of Artworks | The Hepworth Wakefield
Partnerships and supporters
Ronald Moody: Sculpting Life organised by The Hepworth Wakefield in collaboration with Orleans House Gallery. With artistic and curatorial collaboration from Kedisha Coakley and with support from Arts Council England and the Weston Loan Fund.
We are collaborating with Professor Emeritus Joan Anim-Addo and Dr Marl’ene Edwin of the Centre for Caribbean and Diaspora Studies, Goldsmiths, University of London, with writing and community engagement, expanding on the context for the show, both in Moody’s lifetime and today.