LONDON.- Barry Flanagan (1941-2009) was one of Britain’s most original and inventive artists. This autumn Tate Britain presents a major exhibition which concentrates on his early works and positions him as a key figure in the development of British and international sculpture. Although Flanagan is well known for bronze hare sculptures which can be seen in prominent public spaces around the world, the success of these works relatively late in his career has somewhat obscured the achievements that characterised his early period. This exhibition aims to reassess and contextualise this early work by focusing specifically on his early studio practice from 1965-1982, ending with the first international presentations of his stone, ceramic and bronze works at the Venice Biennale and Documenta 7. A contemporary of Gilbert & George and Bruce McLean, he studied at St Martin’s School of Art from 1964 to 1966, where he began to