An exhibition charting the influence of world-renowned British sculptor Henry Moore on contemporary artists will kick off Thursday at the artist's former home and workshop on the outskirts of London.

Moore, who died in 1986, is one of the 20th century's most recognizable sculptors, whose art can be found in public spaces across the world.

The exhibition, "Body and Void: Echoes of Henry Moore in Contemporary Art" fills the indoor exhibition space and the grounds at the Henry Moore Foundation in the village of Perry Green in Hertfordshire of England.

Moore's style is instantly recognizable -- often inspired by human figures, and featuring pierced forms and becoming more abstract as he grew older.

Moore himself was influenced by nature and the work of artists such as sculptor Auguste Rodin, and also by the art of cultures outside the Western tradition from South America and Africa.

This is the first exhibition to examine how Moore has influenced contemporary artists.

Works exhibited outdoors in the grounds of the Henry Moore Foundation, include large-scale sculptures by Rachel Whiteread, Tony Cragg and Thomas Schutte, which sit alongside Henry Moore's 'Reclining Figure: External Form' (1953-54), on loan from the University of Freiburg in Germany.

"It is a dialogue between Moore and those who came after him. Actually this gives one a new insight into Henry Moore as much as into the artists who are being shown alongside him," said Richard Calvocoressi, director of the Henry Moore Foundation.

"Whatever our attitudes towards Moore, whether we love him, or whether we have doubts about him, we can not ignore him. This is an artist, the sculptor above all, who realized that we are embodied beings. We live in bodies, we touch, we feel, we displace, we occupy space..that's sort of what the exhibition is about," Calvocoressi added.

British artists Richard Deacon and Richard Long will produce new works for the exhibition, to be sited in the Foundation's grounds.

Indoor galleries at the Foundation will feature works by Joseph Beuys, Tony Cragg, Richard Deacon, Antony Gormley, Damien Hirst, Anish Kapoor, Sarah Lucas and Rachel Whiteread, shown alongside a series of Moore works including 'Stringed Mother and Child' (1938), and 'Helmet Head No 4: Interior-Exterior' (1963).

Anita Feldman, curator of the exhibition, said that Moore's sculptures have been shown in China's Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, leaving a major impact in Asia.

"There is something that's connecting with the forms of landscape, that transcends national boundaries, but also has a particular relevance to the Asian art," she said.

The exhibition runs from May 1 to October 26. Endi

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