Ray Exworth Sculptures: Hidden Masterpieces Revealed After 60 Yea 2026

Ray Exworth's astonishing sculptures, hidden in a labyrinth of sheds in Cornwall for six decades, represent one of Britain's most extraordinary bodies of sculpture. Almost nobody has seen these works, which remained locked away from the world, visited only by a fortunate few. Even his wife Susie, 92, was largely kept out. “I could not visit without an invitation!” she recalls.

The Hidden World of Ray Exworth's Sculptures

Exworth, who died in 2015 aged 84, had just one major exhibition in his lifetime, at the Whitechapel Gallery in 1975. Since then, the man who might belong among Britain’s most notable artists has disappeared almost entirely. His works – sprawling, intricate and wildly ambitious, assembled from an array of salvaged materials – have remained exactly where he left them: filling seven studio sheds and a scattering of shipping containers, unseen.

A new book by photographer Jem Southam, Ray’s Sheds, provides unprecedented access to Exworth’s stunning work for the first time. Southam believes only 20 people have seen inside Ray’s sheds. His book is not only a detailed document of an exceptional art practice that may never otherwise see the light of day, but an intriguing inquiry into what it means to be an artist – and what the purpose of art is – when it is never publicly seen.

Exworth's Early Life and Influences

Exworth was born in 1930 in Ipswich, the eldest of five sons. His father, Southam tells me, was a highly skilled but not well paid sandcaster, who would also make toys for his sons during the war. “Ray got his marvel at the skill and craft of making things from his father,” Southam says. The family’s home was hit in a bombing raid and burned down in 1941; then their next home was also bombed. These traumatic wartime experiences left a mark on Exworth – his sculptures return again and again to childhood memories and objects: clowns, dolls, and even the garden at the family home his father rebuilt from scratch once they were able to return. Exworth made an exact one-to-one replica of the garden from memory.

Key Takeaways from Ray Exworth's Story

• Hidden masterpieces: Exworth's sculptures remained unseen for 60 years in Cornish sheds.
• Traumatic inspiration: Wartime bombings and childhood memories heavily influenced his work.
• Limited access: Only 20 people have ever seen the full collection.
• New book: Ray's Sheds by Jem Southam offers the first public glimpse.
• Legacy questions: The story challenges what it means to be an artist when art is never shown.

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