H C Westermann/Sam Smith

A show that brought together American sculptor and printmaker H C Westermann, and British sculptor and automaton-maker Sam Smith.

This show brought together the practices of American sculptor and printmaker H C Westermann (1922-81), and British sculptor and automaton-maker Sam Smith (1908-83). It was Smith who campaigned for Westermann’s work to be seen in Britain, and the parallels between the two artists’ practices are more than superficial.

Impeccable craftsmanship, an interest in model-making, use of decoration, narrative sense, and subject-matter were just some of the aspects in common.

The Serpentine Gallery invited Westermann to have his first major public show in London and Smith his second.