New Art Centre's Spring exhibition is a presentation of British sculpture from the late 1950s to the end of the 2000s.  It is not meant to be a definitive survey: rather it is a series of snapshots, taken from key moments in the history of British art in the second half of the 20th century, from the radical abstraction of the Constructionist movement, through to the emergence of the ‘New Generation’ sculptors of the 60s, working with colour and new materials, on to the arte povera inspired work of the ‘New British Sculpture’ of the 1980s and finally, to the era of the YBAs.

This exhibition is a very personal selection of artists who the New Art Centre has shown over the course of its 60-year history, artists whom we consider made an important contribution to the wider discourse of sculpture in Britain – and abroad. Some, such as Barbara Hepworth, Anthony Caro, William Turnbull and Antony Gormley, have international reputations to match their talents, whereas others, such as Hubert Dalwood, Robert Adams and Nicholas Pope deserve wider recognition and our show aims to put this right.

In many ways, the exhibition mirrors the history of the New Art Centre itself – founded in 1958 with the aim of showing work by up-and-coming artists who were struggling for representation elsewhere. The gallery has always focussed on sculpture: this was the main reason it moved to Roche Court in 1994, in turn creating one of the first commercially run sculpture parks in Britain.