Art galleries can be intimidating places.

For a long time, whenever I visited one, I would feel a bit of an outsider. I either like a piece of art or not, but I can’t spout lots of what I call ‘artistic waffle’ about it.

My husband is far more knowledgeable and can deliver an informed verdict on a painting or sculpture.

This used to bother me, but not any more. Because over the past two decades art galleries have become far more informal and comfortable places in which to wander. People go along not for intellectual debate, but to look around, chat, relax and have a bite to eat.

Of course you can still discuss the exhibits, as I did with my husband as we paid a visit to a gallery I wish we had discovered sooner.

Housed in a striking 21st century building beside the River Calder, The Hepworth Wakefield takes its name from the internationally acclaimed artist and sculptor Dame Barbara Hepworth, who was born and educated in the city.

Two new exhibitions, Masterpieces by Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore, feature sculptures and other artworks by the two eminent Yorkshire (Henry Moore was born in Castleford) artists who both studied at Leeds School of Art before going on to the Royal College of Art in London, in the early 1920s.

I have to admit, the modernist forms - which my husband pompously described as “organic, despite being heavily engineered” - are not entirely my cup of tea. I often think with sculpture, especially the curves and contours favoured by Hepworth and Moore that it cries out to be touched, but generally, and for obvious reasons, that is not always possible.

But I loved the artwork, in particular Hepworth’s portraits and Moore’s amazing lithographs of Stonehenge as well as his wax crayon, pen and ink works of miners and of Londoners sheltering in the underground during the Second World War.

It was fascinating to see the tools that Hepworth used - chisels, gouges, mallets, even a cheese grater. Many permanent exhibits of works in progress form part of the Hepworth Family gift donated by her daughters and estate trustees.

As well as important examples of the full range of materials that she used - cast bronze, stone and wood carvings, paintings, prints and even a screen-printed scarf. It is also the first time Hepworth's personal library has been on public view. My husband was pleased to see a number of books that he himself owns among her collection.

There is a wonderful sculpture of her left hand, what she termed her 'thinking hand', the right being a 'motor hand' that held the hammer, and descriptions of her early life and inspiration. "All my early memories are of forms, shapes and texture. Moving across the West Yorkshire landscape with my father in his car, the hills were sculptures; the roads defined the forms," she says in a BBC film dated 1961.

More tactile, were the works forming part of the excellent Disobedient Bodies exhibition, with contorted limbs, awkwardly twisted clothing and weird sack-like objects among the unsettling pieces on show. It runs until June 18.

The Hepworth Wakefield forms part of the Yorkshire Sculpture Triangle, the UK home of sculpture, linking with the Yorkshire Sculpture Park near Wakefield, the Henry Moore Institute in Leeds and Leeds Art Gallery.

The Hepworth is home to work by many artists, with some fantastic creations on show.

There’s a drooping palm tree which looks great in the gallery, set against the long windows, which offer fantastic views across a weir. We watched a heron, as still as one of the gallery’s statues, standing on the weir, head poised to strike at passing fish.

One exhibition features some depressing but oddly captivating paintings by Hungarian-born artist and lecturer at Wakefield College of Art Gyorgy Gordon.

The gallery is a hive of activity, with craft sessions for children - youngsters were busy making paper lanterns when we visited - and workshops for adults. Children can also burn off energy in an imaginatively-designed playground.

And, if you get peckish, there’s the added bonus of The Hepworth Café Bar, offering delicious meals and snacks - you can even but a hearty breakfast until 12pm. We could not resist the Hepworth homemade burger, served in a brioche bun with tasty relish.

After a leisurely cup of tea, it was off to the gallery shop to buy postcards and other mementos, including, to our delight, Hepworth Gallery beer.

On July 1 an exhibition ‘Painting India’, of works by Howard Hodgkin, widely regarded as one of the world’s greatest painters, begins.

*The Hepworth Wakefield, Gallery Walk, Wakefield WF1 5AW W:hepworthwakefield.org T:01924 247360. The gallery is accessed by road from Bradford via the M62 and A650. It is well-signposted. It is accessible by train from Bradford Interchange to Wakefield Kirkgate Station. It is within easy walking distance - around eight minutes - of the station.