These Mad Hybrids: John Hoyland and Contemporary Sculpture

A composite image showing three works of ceramic sculpture by John Hoyland, all shown on a white background. The first sculpture (on the left of the image) is called The World. It is comprised of a black globe shape resting on a flared blue pedestal. A smaller yellow globe is attached to the upper left of the black globe, a black horn protrudes from the top, and a curved brown shape comes out of of the left side of the globe. Splashes of yellow, pink and black paint adorn the whole piece.

In the centre is Hoyland's work Thupelo Memory. A pink, yellow and blue painted triangle shape rests a top a pink, oval shaped base. A pink curved shape rests behind it, snaking up to the top of the triangle. Behind that is a large pink circle shape, with a line through it. All are decorated with splodges of red and burgundy paint.

On the right is John Hoyland's work The King. A large oval shape stands on the left side of the work, painted blue with a yellow star in the centre, then blue and yellow stripes along on the outer edge. A red and blue spotted snake shape adjoins it, with one side forming into a large triangle shape.

L-R: John Hoyland, The World, 1994; John Hoyland, Thupelo Memory, 1994; John Hoyland, The King, 1994 © The John Hoyland Estate

L-R: John Hoyland, Thupelo Memory, 1994; John Hoyland, The World, 1994 © The John Hoyland Estate

In Spring 2025, two new exhibitions at the Millennium Gallery celebrated the acclaimed Sheffield-born artist, John Hoyland (1934 – 2011). Shown in the gallery’s main space, These Mad Hybrids presented Hoyland’s rarely seen explorations of sculptural forms, alongside work by Caroline Achaintre, Phyllida Barlow, Hew Locke and more.

The centrepiece of the exhibition was a group of ceramic sculptures made by John Hoyland, an artist best known for his abstract paintings. On public display for only the second time since 1994, the works, which Hoyland affectionately called his "mad little hybrids", saw the artist explore a new avenue of artistic investigation.

The exhibition saw Hoyland’s sculptural works in dialogue with a spectacular, international, assembly of contemporary sculpture, featuring works by Caroline Achaintre, Eric Bainbridge, Phyllida Barlow, Olivia Bax, Hew Locke, Anna Reading, Jessi Reaves, Andrew Sabin, John Summers and Chiffon Thomas.

The featured artists share a common fascination and appreciation for colour, materiality, and creative process. They work with materials ranging from cement or synthetic fabric to glitter, combining human and animal bodies, furniture, everyday objects and architecture into playful, bold, new sculptural hybrids.

These Mad Hybrids: John Hoyland and Contemporary Sculpture was on display alongside Strange Presence: John Hoyland Paintings, which showcased a selection of the bold, striking abstract paintings for which Hoyland is best known. Together, these two exhibitions highlighted the dynamic connection between Hoyland’s approach to painting and sculpture, challenging the boundaries of what both sculpture and painting can be and how they speak to each other.

These Mad Hybrids: John Hoyland and Contemporary Sculpture was curated by artist Olivia Bax and Sam Cornish and Wiz Patterson Kelly of the John Hoyland Estate.

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