Felice Hodges
CRICKET FINE ART LONDON requests the pleasure of your company at the
PRIVATE VIEW of
I am excited to be showing this new series of paintings which I have called ‘Out of Left Field’, as it marks a different approach to my way of thinking and working. This exhibition is the accumulation of two years in the studio, much of which was spent alone in lockdown. Gone are many of the drawn, descriptive lines I used in earlier works, replaced now with bands of colour, frequently delineated only by the boundaries separating them. These recent paintings are more purely abstract, relying entirely on colour, tone and occasional fragments of collage. The aim of these works is to create space and time in which to think, meditate and be inspired by colour in all its shades and variations. During this time of isolation, I found I was drawn to a variety of artistic, historic and cultural renderings as I looked for some meaning for, and resolution to, what was happening around the world. Among these influences were primitive woven textiles, worn and threadbare over time and attenuated with age; ancient vessels and their cracked, corrosive surfaces, weathered over centuries of burial; and, of course, the dynamics of twentieth century abstract painting. The works of American artists such as Barnett Newman, Richard Diebenkorn and Mark Rothko played a significant role in changing my approach, the latter famously saying that “a painting is not a picture of an experience but is the experience”. British abstraction also offered an alternative compositional focus, illustrated by the ‘colourfield’ paintings of John Hoyland, Kenneth Noland with his hallmark ‘skinny stripes’, and Roger Hilton and Terry Frost of the St Ives School. When the world outside seemed confusing and frightening, the ability to focus on colour as an emotional outlet became essential.
Within the confines of these canvases and wooden panels, numerous layers of colour are built up over time, altering in their intensity and sometimes revealing other tones underneath. There are still elements of collage, a technique I have employed often in my paintings over many years. However, in these recent pictures its appearance (or, rather, disappearance) is often heavily disguised under the coloured surface, referencing the notion of things lost or faded, of long ago experiences drifting away. These fragments are reminders of our past which, I believe, sustain us when challenged by life-changing events like Covid. This style of painting is demanding and labour intensive; not only in the almost endless decision-making involved when mixing and deploying colours and selecting how to juxtapose them, but also because of its uncompromising reliance on colour. The final impact – whether seeking to permit ambiguity or generate some inner resolution – is both subjective and dependent on the viewer’s participation. I hope these pictures encourage imagination and provoke deeper contemplation.
Felice Hodges OUT OF LEFT FIELD
at 2 Park Walk, London SW10 0AD
Tuesday 19th October 2021 6 - 8pm
(The phrase ‘out of left field’ is believed to come from the American game of baseball when a player from left field unexpectedly gets the ball to home base or first, dismissing the person batting. This element of surprise is the key.) Felice Hodges, 2021
The exhibition continues until Saturday 6th November 2021 Paintings are for sale on receipt of this catalogue. The entire exhibition can be viewed online at cricketfineart.co.uk
front cover: L i l a c R h y t h m mixed media on canvas 76 × 61 cm £3,900 back cover: Ja d e R i b b o n mixed media on canvas 40 × 50.5 cm £2,500
above
C o m p o s i t i o n : Ma r o o n a n d Ye l l ow mixed media on canvas 30.5 × 30.5 cm above: C h a n n e l mixed media on canvas 101.5 × 76 cm £4,500 right
left: Q u a r t e t mixed media on panel 35.5 × 28 cm £1,500
Fa l l i n g ov e r Bl u e mixed media on canvas 82 × 73 cm 2
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Re m n a n t s o f Ru s t mixed media on canvas 30.5 × 22.5 cm £1,500 4
Pa l e Bl u e O v e r Ru s t mixed media on canvas 35.5 × 25.5 cm £1,500 5
Re t r o mixed media on canvas 76 × 101.5 cm £4,500
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above: Sa n d s o f Ti m e mixed media on canvas 41 × 51 cm £2,500 right: Sa n g d e B o e u f mixed media on panel 60 × 30 cm £2,750 8
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L i l a c Gr o u n d mixed media on panel 25.5 × 25.5 cm £980 10
Bl u e Sl a t e , Ho t Pi n k mixed media on canvas 61 × 76 cm £3,900 11
O f f W h i t e a n d O c h re mixed media on canvas 100 × 100 cm £5,500
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above top: Re d Di v i d e mixed media on paper 29.5 × 42 cm £1,750 above: Ca t h e d r a l s i n t h e Sk y mixed media on panel 30.5 × 30.5 cm £1,750 right: Pr i n t e m p s mixed media on canvas 170 × 71 cm £5,900 14
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above: Ma r i g o l d St r i p e mixed media on canvas 30.5 × 30.5 cm £1,750 right: By z a n t i a mixed media on paper 126 × 91 cm £5,900 16
G o l d , Bl a c k a n d O f f W h i t e mixed media on canvas 160 × 160 cm £9,000
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above top: Ru s t , O c h re a n d Iv o r y mixed media on card 16.5 × 20.5 cm £950 above: Ru s t o n Ye l l ow mixed media on card 20 × 24.5 cm £980 above right: Te r r a c o t t a Fl o a t mixed media on card 22 × 17 cm £950
right: C e l a d o n P l a i n s mixed media on panel 45 × 35.5 cm £2,500 20
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Ca l i f o r n i a Mo o d mixed media on canvas 100 × 100 cm £5,000
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above: Tu s c a n y mixed media on paper 41.5 × 41.5 cm £2,250 right: C r o s s i n g t o Re d mixed media on canvas 102 × 76 cm £4,500 24
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Na v y B l u e s mixed media on canvas 100 × 100 cm £5,000
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Ve s s e l mixed media on wood panel 28 × 35.5 cm £1,750 28
In d i g o mixed media on canvas 76.5 × 101.5 cm £4,500 29
above: O a s i s mixed media on canvas 40 × 50.5 cm £2,500 right: Ta n g i e r s mixed media on canvas 128 × 128 cm £7,500 30
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S c a r l e t O v e r Bl u e mixed media on canvas 100 × 100 cm £5,000
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P l a i n s mixed media on canvas 50 × 50 cm £2,750 34
Pr a i r i e mixed media on canvas 40 × 40 cm £2,500 35
Sl a t e a n d Te a l mixed media on canvas 35.5 × 25 cm £1,500 36
T h re e Gr a c e s mixed media on canvas 39.5 × 50 cm £2,500 37
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