ArtMoorHouse is proud to present
MARCUS HODGE BREAKING THE CYCLE
21st November 2019 -6th January 2020 ArtMoorHouse, Moor House Building 120 London Wall EC2Y5ET London, UK
Image detail: Red Timbers, 2019, Oil on Canvas, 80 x 150cm
MARCUS HODGEÂ BREAKING THE CYCLE Approaching the burning ghats of Varanasi through the narrow, winding streets leading to the edge of the Ganges, you press yourself into any small recess or doorway as yet another funeral party passes by. The deceased held high on their shoulders, wrapped in f ine materials, accompanied by singing and prayers. Varanasi is one of seven holy cities in India and the oldest, continuously inhabited city in the world. Many head there to end their days in order to escape samsara, breaking the cycle of rebirth and achieving moksha or spiritual liberation. The title of the exhibition becomes a metaphor for the new beginnings we can all undertake.
On arrival the body will be dipped f ive times into the river, representing the f ive elements, then left on the steps while the water drains away. It is then placed on the pyre and lit f rom the embers of the eternal flame. This small f ire has, reputedly, been kept burning by the descendants of the same family for many centuries. The journey is a cause for celebration as much as sorrow, the bodies slowly reduced to ash among the flames. Enormous stacks of timbers stretch along every street and alleyway and at the river’s edge piles of ash are consigned to the dark waters of the Ganges. Dogs and cattle pick their way along the bank as the next pyres are prepared and set alight. Colour abounds but always moderated by the greys and sooty blacks of the ash and scorched timbers.
This recent series of work was inspired by a trip to Varanasi and many previous to India. The structure of the timbers lent a strong abstract motif to many of the paintings. The thoughts and ideas based around samsara and moksha likewise gave shape to the composition and design, stained with the memories and experience of colour and place. The work continues to be less about f inish as about process, one that may reveal something new and unexpected. Each picture f inds itself in the mysterious and compelling process of being painted. The visual language is bold and simple, using various large tools with generous, direct application of paint. Texture, breaking and activating surface, a simpler arrangement and form of expression.
Image: Breaking the Cycle, 2019, Oil on 5 Canvases, 142 x 142cm
A balance between action and stillness, light and dark, the seeking of inf inite variety in repetition, through accident and chance. Intuitive, a felt response to these timeless ceremonies, a meditation on the universal human condition that perhaps binds us closer in this ever more f ractured world.
Marcus Hodge, 2019
On Show at ArtMoorHouse
Exhibition viewable by appointment only
E. info@ArtMoorHouse.com
T.+44(0)7502211914
MARCUS HODGE
Green Horizon, 2019 Oil on Board 61 x 49.5cm £ 3,600.00
MARCUS HODGE
Red Timbers, 2019 Oil on Canvas 80 x 150cm £ 6,240.00
MARCUS HODGE
Stacked Elements, 2019 Oil on Oil Paper 59 x 42cm £ 1,800.00
MARCUS HODGE
Between the Lines, 2018 Oil on Canvas 150 x 150cm £ 9,840.00
MARCUS HODGE
Samsara, 2019 Oil on Canvas 180 x 115cm £ 9,600.00
MARCUS HODGE
Stacked Colours, Jaipur, 2019 Oil on Oil Paper 66 x 50cm £ 2,400.00
MARCUS HODGE
Breaking the Cycle, 2019 Oil on 5 Canvases 142 x 142cm £ 9,120.00
MARCUS HODGE
Burning Timbers, 2019 Oil on Canvas 150 x 120cm £ 9,000.00
MARCUS HODGE
Red Interlock, 2019 Oil on Canvas 120 x 150cm £ 8,640.00
MARCUS HODGE
Revolution, 2019 Oil on 5 Canvases 147 x 147cm £ 9,360.00
MARCUS HODGE
Black, Cream, Yellow, 2018 Oil on Canvas 120 x 160cm
MARCUS HODGE
Regeneration, 2019 Oil On Canvas 160 x 115cm £ 8,400.00
MARCUS HODGE
Blue Karma, 2019 Oil on Canvas 120 x 160cm £ 9,300.00
MARCUS HODGE
Era verde el silencio, 2019 Oil on Canvas 145 x 110cm £ 8,400.00
MARCUS HODGE
Black Interlock, 2019 Oil on Canvas 120 x 170cm £ 9,300.00
MARCUS HODGE
Eternal Flame, 2019 Oil on Canvas 115 x 95cm
MARCUS HODGE
Opening I, 2019 Oil on Canvas 120 x 150cm £ 8,880.00
MARCUS HODGE
Released, 2019 Oil on Board 60 x 49cm £ 3,600.00
MARCUS HODGE
Black Timbers, 2019 Oil on Canvas 80 x 150cm £ 6,480.00
MARCUS HODGE
Overlap, 2019 Oil on Mount Board Aperture 56 x 50cm £ 2,400.00
MARCUS HODGE
Autumn V, 2018 Oil on Paper Aperture 63 x 48cm £ 2,400.00
MARCUS HODGE
Black Timbers III, 2019 Oil on Mount Board 50 x 66cm £ 2,400.00
MARCUS HODGE
Blue Steps, 2019 Oil on Oil Paper 53 x 37cm £ 1,680.00
MARCUS HODGE
Red Steps, 2019 Oil on Oil Paper 48.5 x 36.5cm £ 1,440.00
MARCUS HODGE
Fire Stacks, 2019 Oil on Oil Paper 66 x 50cm £ 2,400.00
MARCUS HODGE
Green Stacks, 2019 Oil on Paper 42 x 27cm £ 1,560.00
Triptych: Tantric 1,2,3, 2018 Oil on paper 38 x 28cm 3,200.00
MARCUS HODGE
Tantric 1, 2018 - (Triptych Tantric 1,2,3) Oil on paper 38 x 28cm
MARCUS HODGE
Tantric 2, Jodhpur Blue, 2018 (Triptych Tantric 1,2,3) Oil on Oil Paper 38 x 28cm
MARCUS HODGE
Tantric 3, 2018 (Triptych Tantric 1,2,3) Oil on paper 38 x 29
MARCUS HODGE
Tantric Red and Blue, 2019 Oil on Board 70 x 51.5cm £ 3,360.00
MARCUS HODGE
Surya, 2019 Oil on Board 61.5.x 45.5cm £ 2,880.00
MARCUS HODGE
Black Timbers I, 2019 Oil on Mount Board Aperture 50 x 66cm £ 2,400.00
MARCUS HODGE
Moksha IV, 2019 Oil on Handmade Indian Paper 44 x 35cm £ 1,320.00
Moksha II, 2019 Oil on Handmade Indian Paper Aperture 40 x 56cm ÂŁ 1,440.00
Finding Equilibrium, 2019 Oil on Board 55 x 44cm £ 2,880.00
Embers I, 2019 Oil on Handmade Indian Paper 32 x 42cm ÂŁ 960.00
MARCUS HODGE
Available for viewing upon request
Interlock, 2019 Plaster on Wood 56 high x 51 wide x 37cm deep ÂŁ 3,240.00
Samsara, 2019 Plaster on Wood, Polished black granite base 45 high x 47 wide x 3.5cm deep ÂŁ 2,880.00
Biography
In the early stages of his career, Hodge initially made his name as a portrait painter. He returned to the UK in 1996 f rom a rigorous f ive year training in classical oil painting in Spain, very much in the vivid Spanish ‘Alla Prima’ style. Within two years, he exhibited with the Royal Society of Portrait Painters and was selected as one of the UK’s A list portrait painters by Harpers and Queen. Hodge f irst travelled to India in 2000. This trip was the start of an intense fascination with India and became the driving inspiration behind his f irst solo show. With each solo exhibition which followed, his style constantly evolved to become bolder and simpler as f igurative painting gave way to abstraction. The paintings were accompanied by impressionist bronze sculptures, as his interest in this three dimensional aspect grew. The Gateways exhibition in 2017 represented a pivotal moment in the artist’s established career as it fused his love of India with abstraction. The themes of gateways and windows were clear metaphors for this transformation which gave the materials far greater expression, unencumbered by representation. Different tools such as large spatulas, knives and lengths of wood were used to introduce the elements of risk, chance and opportunity. Each painting becomes unique in Hodge's search for the unexpected.
Selected solo show 2001 2002 2004 2011 2014 2015 2017 2019
June November June November October October November November
FAC, Cork Street FAC, Cork Street FAC, Walton Street FAC, Tryon Gallery Osborne Studio Gallery The Jerram Gallery Rountree Tryon Gallery ArtMoorHouse
London London London London London Sherborne London London
Selected Collective Exhibitions 2000 2005 2011 2012 2017 2018 2019
Royal Society of Portrait Painters Osborne Studio Gallery Art London Bonhams Palm Beach Art Fair Crossgate Gallery Crossgate Gallery
London London London Edinburgh Miami Lexington, USA Lexington, USA
Exhibition viewable by appointment only
CONTACTS:
ArtMoorHouse Moor House Building, 120 London Wall EC2Y 5ET E. info@artmoorhouse.com T. +44(0)7502211914 W. www.ArtMoorHouse.com
Marcus Hodge E. art@marcushodge.com W. www.marcushodge.com
ArtMoorHouse Elisa Martinelli E. info@artmoorhouse.com T. +447502211914