To celebrate the opening on 21 May of 'The Road to Abstraction' we caught up with The Ingram Collection's Curator, Jo Baring, who gave us a little extra information about the process behind creating the show as well as what she's most excited about. 

When did the plans for ‘The Road to Abstraction’ begin?

The usual process for an Ingram Collection exhibition at The Lightbox is to get planning a year in advance. We had wanted to create a show about abstraction for a while, and this way we get to showcase some of the more unusual objects within the collection that people may not have had the opportunity to see before.

How did you decide on the concept for the exhibition?

We are always looking for ideas that showcase The Ingram Collection in new and imaginative ways and for some time we had wanted to highlight how abstract art developed throughout the 20th century. Having looked closely at the collection we were very excited to find that we could create a show about how key Modern British artists gradually moved from portraying traditional forms to experimenting with producing artworks in abstract shapes, lines and colours.

This exhibition is particularly fascinating because through their work, you can see artists such as William Gear gradually moving towards abstraction as they mature.  

What is your favourite piece in the exhibition and why?

There are so many different ones to choose from, this is a very hard question and seems to change almost daily for me!

My favourite piece is ‘Sculpture with Colour and Strings’ by Barbara Hepworth who is one of the most important artists of the 20^th century. I love this work because although it is an abstract piece it is incredibly tactile and full of emotion and I hope that people identify with it within the exhibition. People can share their own favourite works on Twitter by using the hashtag #IngramAbstract.

'The Road to Abstraction: The Ingram Collection' will be on display in the Main Gallery from 21 May 2016 – 24 July 2016. Entrance with a £5 anual pass and under 18s are free. 

Image credit: John Tunnard (1900-1971) Messenger, 1969, oil, tempera, sand and pencil on board © The Estate of John Tunnard