Charles Hadcock, New Sculptures at Smithson Plaza

Smithson Plaza, St James's St, SW1A 1HA

Encounter is pleased to announce an exhibition celebrating recent sculptures by contemporary British sculptor Charles Hadcock (b.1965) at the Smithson Plaza in St. James’s, London. The exhibition will open to coincide with Frieze London and extends the gallery’s ongoing public arts program curated in collaboration with Resolution Property.

Hadcock’s sculptures reflect his interest in geology, engineering and mathematics and are enriched by references to music and poetry. For this exhibition, Hadcock presents three previously unseen outdoor sculptures, Palindrome I, Phrases and Idiom II, the largest of which is almost four metres in height. Each work is cast in either bronze, aluminium or terracotta and when combined these powerful sculptures create a rich visual journey across the plaza. The exhibition also includes ‘Working Models’ and ‘Maquettes’ from diverse series which can be found throughout the site’s internal spaces. As physically forceful as it is conceptually nuanced, the artist’s sophisticated sculptural language enticingly balances nature and industry, music and architecture. The artist is known for creating sculptures of complex composition and lyrical intent which contrast with the heavy weight of the industrial materials he uses. The complex arrangements of Hadcock’s carefully crafted forms are dependent on mathematical formulas derived from the Ancient Greeks. The assemblages of his new poetic Phrases series reference crystallographic patterns and the formation of familiar rhythms of language.

With over thirty monumental permanent public works sited across the UK and internationally, the artist’s sculpture is often conceived for the built environment.  The minimal structural design and clean, linear construction of Smithson Plaza, widely recognised as a triumph of post-war Brutalist architecture, further emphasises the nuanced materiality of Hadcock’s sculptures. In this exhibition, Hadcock extends his concern with the relationships between solid material, light and space. Preoccupied with the interplay between the transient and the permanent, the artist’s sculptures delicately transition from ethereal reflections - which constantly dance across their polished surfaces - to deeply embedded textured castings of rock faces and fossils, painstakingly formed over millennia. Hadcock joins a significant roster of established artists to exhibit at the plaza, including Sir Eduardo Paolozzi, Barry Flanagan, Lynn Chadwick, Anthony Caro and Barbara Hepworth.

This important exhibition will run until April 2026.

Charles Hadcock

Charles Hadcock (1965) studied fine art at the Royal College of Art, London (1987-89), specialising in sculpture. Over 30 of Hadcock’s monumental sculptures are on permanent public view throughout the UK and Europe most notably at Brighton Beach, Jubilee Park (Canary Wharf), and Holland Park. Hadcock’s sculptures reflect his interest in geology, engineering and mathematics and are enriched by references to music and poetry. He established his first studio in 1989 in Bermondsey, London, where he worked until his practice outgrew the space. In 1999 he moved to Lancashire and established a large studio complex at Roach Bridge Mill to facilitate the physical and conceptual space necessary to develop his sculpture. With a studio practice built up over the last 35 years, Hadcock is constantly refining his technique, each work being informed by those before.

Throughout a prolific 35 years of exhibition activity, Hadcock has regularly shown alongside major figures of British sculpture including Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth, Anthony Caro, and Lynn Chadwick and contemporaries including Antony Gormley, Tony Cragg and Rachel Whiteread. Recent exhibitions include ‘Passages’, Encounter, Lisbon, ‘Fermata’, Encounter, London, ‘Shapes in Clouds’, Encounter, London (2020), ‘New Sculptures’, Stow Art House, UK (2020), ‘Fusion’, Encounter, London (2016), ‘Elements’, Encounter, London (2014), ‘Charles Hadcock’, Jubilee Park, London (2011). His work has been featured in important institutional exhibitions including, ‘If in Doubt Ask’ Imperial College, London (1999), ’Shape of the Century’, Canary Wharf and Salisbury Cathedral (1999), ‘Bronze: Contemporary British Sculpture’, Holland Park (2000), ‘There is one in all of us’, Attenborough Centre of Visual Arts, University of Sussex (2000), ‘Thinking Big: Concepts for Twenty-First Century British Sculpture’, Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice (2002),‘Sesqui’, Lancaster University, Lancaster (2006), ‘Sculpture Promenade’, Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge (2009), ‘Abstract & Nature’, Hatfield House (2010). Hadcock repeatedly has been invited to exhibit at Sotheby’s ‘Beyond Limits’ at Chatsworth House (2011, 2016). Both exhibitions resulted in acquisitions by important European and American sculpture parks.

Hadcock’s work is held in the collections of Artemis Investment, Cass Sculpture Foundation, Château Smith Haut Lafitte, Canary Wharf Group PLC, Lancaster University, Clyde and Co., Scottish Widows, Delancey, British Land, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, Platinum Equity, and St James Homes Ltd. His work is included in prominent private collections throughout the world.

Art at Smithson Plaza

The Plaza has a long history of platforming contemporary sculpture by acclaimed emerging and established artists. Since the 60's it has regularly housed important figures of post-war and contemporary sculpture including; Barbara Hepworth, Anthony Caro, Eduardo Paolozzi, Barry Flanagan, Mimmo Paladino among many others. Encounter has curated and managed the art program at Smithson Plaza for the last 8 years further developing the site's reputation as a leading platform for international contemporary sculpture through their collaborative and creative vision. We have recently curated exhibitions of a diverse group of institutionally recognised contemporary artists including; David Annesley, Olaf Breuning, Jean Dubuffet, Yves Dana, Alex Katz, Jordy Kerwick, Jedd Novatt, Zak Ove, Eva Rothschild and Sophia Vari. Key to the programme is partnership with leading contemporary galleries known for their dedication to monumental contemporary sculpture. These include; Pace Gallery, Waddington Custot, Cass Sculpture Foundation, Encounter, Timothy Taylor, Modern Art, Vigo Gallery and Metro Pictures.

Sculptures first exhibited as part of the programme have gone on to be exhibited at important institutions nationally including; Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Frieze Sculpture Park, The Victoria and Albert Museum, The Courtauld Institute of Art and The Design Museum. Zak Ove's 'Autonomous Morris' sculpture was named by Wallpaper Magazine as one of the 'outdoor art installations not to miss in 2018'. Contemporary sculpture on the Plaza continues to stimulate the imaginations of the estate's tenants and general public.