Paper October 22nd, 2020 – January 22nd, 2021 Bill Hodges Gallery is pleased to present Paper, a selection of 28 drawings and mixed media works from the gallery’s collection of works on paper. From evocative sketches to fully realized compositions, the exhibition shows the breadth of illusionistic and abstracted realities articulated on the papers surface. This thoughtfully curated selection of paper works will be available to view at our Chelsea location from October 22nd – December 19th, 2020. Artists featured in the exhibition include Charles Gaines (1944), Norman Lewis (1909 – 1979), Romare Bearden (1911 – 1988), Wifredo Lam (1902 – 1982), Agustín Cárdenas (1927 – 2001), among others. Paper offers to the public a fresh insight into some of art history’s most prominent artists from the 20th and 21st centuries. While some Charles Gaines, Explosion #29, 2009, artists use the pencil on paper to think through compositional Graphite on Paper, 41 x 31 in. problems, others produce works of art wholly realized on the paper itself. The paper’s unassuming intimacy incites unparalleled access into a given artist’s distinctive practice. The works selected for Paper stimulate new understandings of prominent modern artists, and facilitates a deeper understanding of the artistic possibilities for works on paper. Dynamic compositions are put in curatorial conversation with simpler, meditative works, like Charles Gaines’ Explosion #29, (2009). Gaines delicate rendering of such a consequential subject matter infuses the work with an impressionistic naturalism. The explosion is set in an empty background, suspending the work in time and space and laying the ground for introspection. The exhibition notably features two etchings by Pablo Picasso made in the later years of his artistic career, enriching our understanding of his artistic pursuits on paper. From his 347 series, Raphael et la Fornarina VI: Enfin Seuls! (1968) prominently features nude figures lounging and exposing their sexual organs. The impressionistic figures and setting are rendered with sparse lines, mirroring the languid nature of the subject. The work encourages an exploration of the erotic, as Picasso quite novelly positions himself as an observer and storyteller. The etching is placed alongside Picasso’s work entitled Le Cocu Posant pour une Photographie Devant des Spectateurs (1966). The Pablo Picasso, Le cocu posant pour une photographie devant figures in both works are drawn with the same des spectateurs, 1966, Etching with Aquatint on Wove Paper, impressionistic details, but the figures in Le Cocu are Edition of 50, 14 ⅝ x 18 ⅜ in. placed in a dark, chaotic atmosphere. Picasso fills the space around the figures with thin, dark lines, instilling abstraction and flatness into his illusionistic reality. These works explore how Pablo Picasso translates his ever evolving artistic style to paper, adding depth into his prolific, daring artistic career. 529 West 20th Street, #10E, New York, NY 10011 ∙ 212-333-2640 ∙ www.billhodgesgallery.com
Figuration is explored throughout the exhibition, often in conjunction or opposition with the abstract. Francisco Zuniga (1912 – 1998) uses sepia crayon to realistically render a delicately crouched nude woman in his work entitled Desnudo Sentado, (1978). Paired with Norman Lewis’ abstract portrait Untitled (Woman with a Yellow Flower) (1943), the works explore the diverse artistic possibilities for the female form. A woman adorned in dress clothes and a yellow flower occupies the majority of the paper’s surface. She almost appears to be conversing with the viewer, as she raises her hand and parts her lips, cigarette dangling from her mouth. The gouache and watercolor painted on the illusionistic portrait suffuse the work’s mimesis with a cool toned haze of abstraction. The boundaries of the illusionistic and abstract are further challenged with Wifredo Lam’s San Titre (1947), as the suggestion of a torso is undermined by the impressions of flora and fauna dizzily traversing the work. Agustín Cárdenas’ work on paper Untitled Norman Lewis, Untitled (Woman with a (1956) next to his large and highly Yellow Flower), 1943, Gouache and Watercolor on Wove Paper, 20 x 14 in. important marble sculpture, Double Face (1972), encouraging an examination of the artist’s style across mediums. The curves and surrealist quality of this biomorphic structure are similarly articulated in Untitled, as slight modulation allow for the biomorphic forms to maintain a marble-like quality in a two dimensional reality. The colors in the background, vaguely delineated into quadrants, enforce an abstracted reality upon this three-dimensionally rendered sculpture. The works exhibited illustrate Cardenas’ exploration of the boundaries between the abstract and figuration in surrealist practices. Established in 1979, Bill Hodges Gallery is a modern and contemporary art gallery specializing in influential artists of the African Diaspora. The gallery’s Agu sti n Cárd en a s, Unt i tl e d , museum quality collection is well known for its strong inventory of Harlem 198 0, Go u ache, I n di a I nk , Renaissance and Abstract works of art by prominent artists including Norman Co l l age , an d Pe n ci l o n Pape r, 25 ¾ x 19 i n . Lewis (1909 – 1979), Jacob Lawrence (1917-2000), Romare Bearden (1911 – 1988), Sam Gilliam (1933), and Ed Clark (1926 – 2019). Responding to market and scholarly interest in artists underrepresented in the canon of art history, the gallery showcases a wealth of minority artists and advocates for their status as leading artistic pioneers of the 20th and 21st centuries. Paper exhibits strong artworks by prolific Black artists alongside their well known contemporaries, positioning the works as important contributions to the history of arts.
---Bill Hodges Gallery is located at 529 W. 20th Street, suite #10E, between 10th Avenue and 11th Avenue. Our closest subway stations are 14th St. & 8th Ave. (A-C-E) and 23rd St. & 8th Ave. (C-E). The gallery is open Monday to Friday from 11 AM – 6 PM. Appointments are strongly encouraged but walk ins are accepted. The gallery is implementing social distancing measures; requiring guests wear appropriate personal protection equipment. Masks can be provided. For more information or to arrange a private viewing, please contact Bill or Navindren Hodges at (212) 333-2640 or at info@billhodgesgallery.com
529 West 20th Street, #10E, New York, NY 10011 ∙ 212-333-2640 ∙ www.billhodgesgallery.com
Paper October 22 – January 22, 2021 1. David Smith (1906 - 1965) Untitled, 1951 Egg Ink, Crayon, Graphite and Tempera on Paper, 19 ⅞ x 26 in.
2. Wifredo Lam (1902 - 1982) Sans Titre, 1947 Watercolor, Pencil and Ink on Paper 12 ¼ x 18 ¾ in.
3. David Smith (1906 - 1965) ΔS 11/7/54 4, 1954 Oil, Egg Ink and Tempera on Paper 15 ¾ x 20 ¼ in.
4. Wifredo Lam (1902 – 1982) Horse Woman on The Chair, 1951 Ink and Ink Wash on Paper 15 ¾ x 11 ⅞ in.
529 West 20th Street, #10E, New York, NY 10011 ∙ 212-333-2640 ∙ www.billhodgesgallery.com
5.
Norman Lewis (1909 – 1979) Untitled, 1970 Oil on Paper 43 x 31 ¾ in.
6. Nikki Lee (1970) The Exotic Dancers Project (23), 2000 Fujiflex C-Print, Edition of 3 Image: 23 ¾ x 33 ¾ in. Sheet: 30 x 40 in. 7. Romare Bearden (1911 - 1988) Louis, circa 1979 Monotype on Paper 29 ½ x 22 in.
8. Marion Greenwood (1909 – 1970) Mother and Child, 1951 Conte Crayon, Watercolor, Pen and Ink on Paper 14 ⅜ x 11 ¼ in.
529 West 20th Street, #10E, New York, NY 10011 ∙ 212-333-2640 ∙ www.billhodgesgallery.com
9.
Milton Avery (1885 - 1965) Study for The Nursemaid, circa 1934 Gouache and Pencil on Paper 22 ¼ x 15 ¼ in.
10.
Francisco Zuñiga (1912 – 1998) Desnudo Sentado, 1978 Sepia Crayon on Ingres-Fabriano Paper 27 ⅝ x 19 ⅜ in.
11.
Norman Lewis (1909 – 1979) Untitled (Woman with a Yellow Flower), 1943 Gouache and Watercolor on Wove Paper 20 x 14 in.
12. Bernard Buffet (1928 - 1999) La Passion du Christ - Femme en robe au col carre, 1954 Pencil on Paper 30 x 22 in.
529 West 20th Street, #10E, New York, NY 10011 ∙ 212-333-2640 ∙ www.billhodgesgallery.com
13. Gaston Lachaise (1882 – 1935) Dancing Nude, circa 1930-32 Graphite on Paper 24 x 19 in.
14. Joseph Kersey (1909 - 1982) A Boy and His Dog Watercolor on Paper Laid Down on Board 21 ¾ x 14 ⅞ in.
15. Marion Greenwood (1909 – 1970) Mother and Child (Study), 1951 Charcoal on Paper 20 ¾ x 15 in.
16. Pablo Picasso (1881 – 1973) Le Cocu Posant pour une photographie devant des spectateurs, 1966 Etching with Aquatint on Wove Paper Edition of 50 Image: 8 ½ x 12⅝ in. Paper: 14 ⅝ x 18 ⅜ in.
529 West 20th Street, #10E, New York, NY 10011 ∙ 212-333-2640 ∙ www.billhodgesgallery.com
17. Pablo Picasso (1881 – 1973) Raphael et la Fornarina VI: enfin seuls!, 1968 Etching on Paper, Edition of 50 Image: 11 ¾ x 20 ⅛ in. Paper: 17 ¼ x 25 ¾ in. 18. Kara Walker (1969) buoy, 2010 Etching with Aquatint, Sugar-Lift, Spit-bite and Dry-point, Printed on Hahnemuhle Copperplate Bright White 300gm Paper, Edition of 30 Image: 23 ¾ x 32 ¼ in. Paper: 30 ¼ x 36 ¼ in. 19. Carrie Mae Weems (1953) When And Where I Enter, 2006 Digital C Print, Edition of 30 Image: 18 x 18 in. Paper: 30 x 24 in.
20. William Villalongo (1975) If This World Were Mine I’d Make U A Queen Cut Velour Paper 26 ¾ x 18 ¾ in.
529 West 20th Street, #10E, New York, NY 10011 ∙ 212-333-2640 ∙ www.billhodgesgallery.com
21. Henri Le Sidaner (1862 – 1939) Vue à Bruges, 1911 Mixed Media on Paper Laid Down on Board 6 ⅜ x 8 ½ in.
22. John T. Scott (1940 – 2007) Scene from a One Act Play & Other Week End Dramas, 1986 Graphite on Paper 29 ⅞ x 22 in.
23. Charles Gaines (1944) Explosion #29, 2009 Graphite on Paper Image: 39 ⅞ x 29 ¾ in. Text: 10 x 11 ⅞ in.
24. Roy DeCarava (1919 – 2009) Untitled (Man Smoking Cigar on Trashcan), 1978 Gelatin Silver Print Image: 9 ⅞ x 13 in. Paper: 11 x 13 ⅞ in.
529 West 20th Street, #10E, New York, NY 10011 ∙ 212-333-2640 ∙ www.billhodgesgallery.com
25. Norman Lewis (1909 – 1979) Trisections, 1961 Oil on Paper 26 x 19 in.
26. Agustín Cárdenas (1927 - 2001) Untitled, 1980 Gouache, India Ink, Collage, and Pencil on Paper 25 ¾ x 19 in.
27. Jacob Lawrence (1917 - 2000) And God Created all the Beasts of the Earth Color Screenprint on Chine Collé with Lithographed Text on St. Armand Paper, Edition of 22 26 ½ x 40 in. 28.
William S. Carter (1909 – 1966) Untitled (Carnations), 1950 Watercolor on Thick Wove Paper 24 x 18 ⅛ in.
529 West 20th Street, #10E, New York, NY 10011 ∙ 212-333-2640 ∙ www.billhodgesgallery.com
Bill Hodges Gallery Milton Avery (1885 - 1965)
Study for The Nursemaid, ca.1934 Gouache and Pencil on Paper, 22 ¼ x 15 ¼ in.
Milton Avery (Alatmar, NY; 1885 - Bronx, NY; 1965) was a modernist painter who began his studies at the Connecticut League of Art Students in 1915 then began taking night jobs so that he could paint in the day. Though his work is figurative, Avery was greatly influenced by the abstract expressionist movement that was cropping up in New York art scenes. After moving to New York, marrying fellow artist Sally Michel and starting a family, Avery took painting and drawing classes at the Art Students League of New York where he met Roy Neuberger, a financier who ushered Avery into the art world. Neuberger was so enamored with Avery’s work that he bought 100 of his pieces and sold or lent them to museums across the country. This generous act catapulted Avery’s reputation and gained him renown. His first solo show was at the Phillips Collection in Washington D.C. in 1944, which, coincidentally, was also one of the first institutions to purchase his work. In 1949, Avery suffered a heart attack which forced him to take a step back from painting. Upon returning to art, he began with printmaking. His paintings after 1949 are noted for more delicate strokes and muted colors. In 1963, Avery was elected a Fellow for the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. His works are in the collections of Albright-Knox Gallery, NY; Brooklyn Museum of Art, NY; Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C.; Metropolitain Museum of Art, NY; Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, PA and many more.
529 West 20th Street, #10E, New York, NY 10011 ∙ 212-333-2640 ∙ www.billhodgesgallery.com
Bill Hodges Gallery Romare Bearden (1911 -1988)
Louis, ca. 1979 Monotype on Paper, 29 ½ x 22 in.
Romare Bearden (Charlotte, NC; 1911 – New York, NY; 1988) was an American artist best known for his paintings and collages. Aside from his earlier comics , Bearden began his art career with portrayals of Black American life and scenes of the American South. Inspired by Cubism and Mexican muralists, Bearden echoed their color palettes and linear styles in some of his works. While developing his style, Bearden was a caseworker for the Department of Social Services and later served in the U.S. Army during World War II, which allowed him to travel internationally. After his service, Bearden traveled to Europe to meet and befriend artists and his style evolved more towards abstraction, dealing with themes like religion and the human experience. In the early 1960’s, Bearden was a founding member of Spiral, an artist collective formed for Black artists to meet and discuss the struggle for Civil Rights. Soon after his participation in the group, Bearden transitioned into making his well-known collages. In 1964, Bearden was appointed the first art director of the Harlem Cultural Council, he was also involved in the creation of the Studio Museum, the Black Academy of Arts and Cinque Gallery. The artist passed away in New York in 1988.
529 West 20th Street, #10E, New York, NY 10011 ∙ 212-333-2640 ∙ www.billhodgesgallery.com
Bill Hodges Gallery Bernard Buffet (1928 - 1999)
La Passion du Christ - Femme en robe au col carre, 1954 Pencil on Paper, 30 x 22 in.
Bernard Buffet (Paris, FR; 1928 - Tourtour, FR; 1999) was a French artist who was known for his landscapes, still lifes and portraits. Buffet trained at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts and worked in the studio of Eugène Narbonne, a French figurative painter. Buffet was a well celebrated artist during his time, having about one show a year and a retrospective held at 30 years old. His style is characterized by subtle colors, bold black lines and sharp angles. He received the Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur in 1973. Towards the end of his life and career, Buffet fell out of favor with the art world, due in part to a shift in focus from figurative art, art also became difficult for him once diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Buffet committed suicide in 1999 in his home in Tourtour, France.
529 West 20th Street, #10E, New York, NY 10011 ∙ 212-333-2640 ∙ www.billhodgesgallery.com
Bill Hodges Gallery Agustín Cárdenas (1927 - 2001)
Untitled, 1980 Gouache, India Ink, Collage, and Pencil on Paper, 25 ¾ x 19 in.
Agustín Cárdenas (Matanzas, CU; 1927 - Havana, CU; 2001) was a Cuban sculptor well-known for his participation in the Parisian Surrealist movement. Cárdenas studied at the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes San Alejandro en Havana where he studied one of Cuba’s great sculptors, Juan José Sicre. In 1955, he moved to Paris and soon after joined the Surrealist movement in the city, befriend and working with artists like Constantin Brâncuşi, Salvador Dalí and André Breton. His style is heavily influenced by his origins - being born in an infamous slave port and sugar plantation in Cuba, descendant of Senegalese and Congo slaves - his sculptures take African motifs and symbols and make them abstract. Cárdenas’ work was well-received - he was exhibited internationally and received multiple awards including the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from France in 1976 and the Premio Nacional de Artes Plásticas from the Cuban Ministry of Culture in 1995. The artist died in Havana, Cuba in 2001.
529 West 20th Street, #10E, New York, NY 10011 ∙ 212-333-2640 ∙ www.billhodgesgallery.com
Bill Hodges Gallery William Sylvester Carter (1909 - 1996)
Untitled (Carnations), ca. 1950 Watercolor on Thick Wove Paper, 24 x 18 1/8 in.
William Sylvester Carter (St. Louis, MS; 1909 - Chicago, IL; 1996) grew up in St. Louis, MS until he received a scholarship to study at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. It was a struggle to support himself and remain enrolled at SAIC so Carter ultimately transferred to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he earned both a BA and a BFA. Carter began exhibiting in Chicago in 1934, around the time he transferred but still supported himself with odd jobs. Luckily, one of his odd jobs - a laborer on a pool construction site through the WPA (Works Progress Administration) helped connect him with the Illinois Art and Craft Project where he was able to work on his craft and gain exposure while earning a living. Carter was a member of a WPA program called the South Side Community Art Center - which is the only surviving WPA program - and he was able to broaden his skill range by contributing costume and poster designs and meet other artists. William Sylvester Carter is known for using mostly watercolor, ink and tempera paints and for painting floral stilllife’s and ballerinas but he sought a vast assortment of themes for inspiration from landscapes to daily life scenes to abstractions. Carter worked to support himself throughout his entire artistic career, teaching at the South Side Community Art center and as a substitute teacher in Chicago’s public school system. Up until his death, William Carter was known for making small-scale paintings in his senior-citizen home.
529 West 20th Street, #10E, New York, NY 10011 ∙ 212-333-2640 ∙ www.billhodgesgallery.com
Bill Hodges Gallery Roy DeCarava (1919 - 2007)
Untitled (Man with Portfolio), ca. 1950s Gelatin Silver Print, 14 x 11 in.
Roy DeCarava (New York, NY; 1919 – New York, NY; 2007) was an American photographer. He is well known for his portraits of daily Black life and the jazz scene. DeCarava began studying art in high school at Textile High School and continued to study painting at the Cooper Union. He began photography as a way to record his paintings and references but ended up falling in love with the medium. In his lifetime, he was featured in multiple shows at the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney and the Studio Museum of Harlem. He was the first African-American artist to be awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship and later, in 2006, he also received the National Medal of the Arts.
529 West 20th Street, #10E, New York, NY 10011 ∙ 212-333-2640 ∙ www.billhodgesgallery.com
Bill Hodges Gallery Charles Gaines (1944)
Explosion #29, 2009 Graphite on Paper, Image: 41 x 31 in. Text: 10 x 11 ⅞ in.
Charles Gaines (Charleston, SC; 1944) is a key figure in the field of conceptual art. Gaines is most known for his gridlike renderings of the natural world. By developing an art making methodology based in formulaic analyses of the visual world, Gaines attempts to expose the space between objective reality and subjective perception. Born in Charleston, South Carolina and raised in Newark, New Jersey, Gaines received his MFA from the Rochester Institute of Technology’s School of Art & Design, becoming the first African American student to do so. His work is attributed with bridging the early conceptual artists of the 1960s and 1970s with subsequent generations of conceptual artists, situating Gaines as a pioneer in the art world. Gaines’ art is just as intellectual as it is visually captivating. Philosophy and critical theory inform Gaines’ art making practice, which systemically breaks down natural phenomena into its rigid, structural components. By breaking down reality into its basic shapes and forms, Gaines attempts to make the viewer reconsider their own perceptual experiences to point out the limitations of our own understanding and conceptualizations of the world. This approach enables Gaines to probe a myriad of relevant issues facing our world today, consequently raising more questions than he seeks to answer. Gaines explores these inquiries on a number of mediums, most notably through works on paper, drawings, photographs, musical compositions, and installations. While Gaines’ art is politically motivated, the artist did not seek to explicitly visualize or voice issues of race or identity politics, as was the case with many of his Black contemporaries in the 1980s. Gaines chose instead to focus on exploring the political from a conceptual and theoretical framework. As a result, Gaines struggled to find his place in Black art discourses while simultaneously being excluded from mainstream art circles. The artist crafted his own public discourse is response, authoring essays and curating a number of exhibitions that allowed him to explore topics and themes in a manner most appropriate to his work and philosophies. Gaines’ work is featured in the collections of prominent institutions such as MoMA, The Whitney Museum of American Art, The Studio Museum in Harlem, SFMOMA, and LACMA, to name a few. In addition to participating in a number of group exhibitions, Gaines was also the subject of numerous solo exhibitions, produced by the Hammer Museum and Studio Museum in Harlem. The artist is currently based in Los Angeles, where he serves as a distinguished faculty at the CalArts School of Art and continues his prolific art practice. 529 West 20th Street, #10E, New York, NY 10011 ∙ 212-333-2640 ∙ www.billhodgesgallery.com
Bill Hodges Gallery Marion Greenwood (1909 - 1970)
Mother and Child (Study), 1951 Charcoal on Paper, 20 ¾ x 15 in.
Marion Greenwood (Brooklyn, NY 1909 - Kingston, NY; 1970) was an American socialist realist painter who gained popularity in the U.S. and Mexico for her thoughtful and detailed murals. Greenwood exhibited artistic prowess from an early age and was granted a scholarship at 15 to study at the Art Students League of New York. In the mid-1920’s, Greenwood began studying under German artists Winold Reiss and in 1927, at the age of 18, Greenwood would frequently visit the artist community of Yaddo in Saratoga Springs, NY to learn from fellow artists and paint portraits. While still in her teens, Greenwood was able to finance a trip across Europe from the proceeds of a portrait of a wealthy financier. While in Europe, Greenwood studied at the Académie Colarossi in Paris. Greenwood returned to New York in 1930 but continued to travel for the rest of her life - mostly throughout the U.S., China and Mexico. Greenwood’s travels were critical to her work as it allowed her to learn about different ethnicities of people and draw them better. In 1932, Greenwood visited Taxco, Mexico which signified a dramatic shift in her practice. While in Taxco, she and her sister (who was working as her painting assistant) painted five murals in Taxco and Morelia for the Mexican government. Greenwood soon after met Pablo O’Higgins who introduced her to frescos. She soon shifted her style to fresco-mural painting. In 1940, Greenwood was one of only two women hired as artist war correspondents in the World War II U.S. Art Program. Greenwood’s works are in the collection of many renowned institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY; Smithsonian Art Museum, Washington D.C.; Cleveland Museum of Art and more.
529 West 20th Street, #10E, New York, NY 10011 ∙ 212-333-2640 ∙ www.billhodgesgallery.com
Bill Hodges Gallery Gaston Lachaise (1882 - 1935)
Dancing Nude, ca. 1930-32 Graphite on Paper, 24 x 19 in.
Gaston Lechaise (Paris, FR; 1882 - New York, NY; 1935) was a French sculptor noted for his female nudes and how his style redefined the female body in an innovative, more impactful style. Lachaise was born to a cabinetmaker and by age 13, he was already training in the decorative arts. From 1898 to 1904, Lachaise studied sculpture at the École des Beaux-Arts. By the early 1900s, Lachaise met American woman Isabel Nagle and fell in love with her, soon picking up his life and moving to America to be with her, never returning to France. Upon his move to Boston, Massachusetts, Lachaise gained work as a sculptor’s assistant to H.H. Kitson. In 1912, Lachaise followed Kitson to New York and soon after he began working for sculptor Paul Manship. Lachaise came into his own sculptural style while in New York, using bronze to form cuvacious, commanding women - based on his wife’s image. In 1918. Lachaise had his first solo show at Bourgeois Galleries in New York which coincided with his rise in the New York art world and his marriage to Isabel. Lachaise was known as a versatile sculptor and was commissioned by the AT&T Building and Rockefeller Center. He is credited with playing a major role in the creation of American Modernism with his commanding portrayals of the nude body.
529 West 20th Street, #10E, New York, NY 10011 ∙ 212-333-2640 ∙ www.billhodgesgallery.com
Bill Hodges Gallery Wifredo Lam (1902 - 1982)
Horse Woman on the Chair, 1951 Ink and Ink Wash on Paper, 15 ¾ x 11 7/8 in.
Wifredo Lam (Sagua La Grande, CU; 1902 - Paris, FR; 1982) was a Cuban artist known for bringing Afro-Cuban culture to the forefront of the art world. Lam was born to a Congolese and Cuban mother and Chinese father in the African neighborhood of Sagua La Grande. Though his family and neighbors were Catholic, Lam’s maternal grandmother was a Santerίa priestess. In 1916, Lam left for Havana to study law but soon began studying tropical plants at the Botanical Garden and then enrolled at the Escuela de Bellas Artes (School of Fine Arts) in 1918. Lam was not fond of the academic art teaching and left to study art in Madrid in 1923. In Spain, Lam studied under Fernando Álavarez de Sotomayor y Zaragoza, the curator of the Museo del Prado and former teacher of Salvador Dalί. Under Álavarez de Sotomayor y Zaragoza, Lam’s style evolved from Spanish modernist to a more simple style. In 1929, Lam married Eva Piriz but soon after she had his son, she and their son died from tuberculosis. This traumatic loss is said to have influenced the haunting nature of Lam’s work. In 1938, Lam moved to Paris and was soon picked up by Picasso who showed him around the art scene there. Later that year, Lam and Picasso exhibited their work together at Perls Galleries in New York. Around this time, Lam’s work became heavily influenced by Cubism as well as by Picasso. Lam returned to Cuba in 1941 and was shocked to see how poorly the African population was still exploited and mistreated. Because of this he sought to conserve and revere the African culture of Cuba through his works during this time. An example of this is his best known work, The Jungle, 1943. In 1964, Lam was awarded the Guggenheim International Award and a year after his death in 1982, the Wifredo Lam Center for Contemporary Art opened in Havana, Cuba.
529 West 20th Street, #10E, New York, NY 10011 ∙ 212-333-2640 ∙ www.billhodgesgallery.com
Bill Hodges Gallery Jacob Lawrence (1917 - 2000)
And God Created All The Fowls of the Air and Fishes of the Seas, 1990 Color Screenprint on Chine Collé with Lithographed text on St. Armand Paper, Edition of 22, 26 x 40 1/8 in.
Jacob Lawrence (Atlantic City, NJ; 1917 - Seattle, WA; 2000) was placed in foster care after his parents separated at a young age. When he was 13, he finally joined his mother who was living and working in Harlem. It was in Harlem where Lawrence came into contact with art. His mother enrolled Lawrence into an after school art program at the Utopia Children’s Center. Lawrence would later drop out of school at age 16 but continued to educate himself in the arts by taking classes at the Harlem Arts Workshop. At the Harlem Arts Workshop, Lawrence was taught by the legendary Charles Alston, who would often accompany Lawrence on trips to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. During these trips, Lawrence developed an appreciation for masters such as Goya and Giotto as well as a reverence for African art, abstraction and contemporary art by artists like Mexican muralists Diego Rivera and José Clemente Orozco. In 1937, Lawrence received a scholarship to the American Artist School, where he started to work on his first history series. In the late 30’s, Lawrence gained employment as part of the Works Progress Administration in the program’s Easel Painting Division. Later, in the 1940’s, Lawrence completed one of his most celebrated series, The Migration of the Negro Series (known as just The Migration Series), with the help of fellow artist Gwendolyn Knight. The series was first exhibited in a New York Gallery, before going on a 2 year national tour. In 1941, Lawrence and Knight married. From then on, they traveled across the United States together, gathering research for Lawrence’s many series. By the late 40’s Lawrence had already executed several, including The Life of Harriet Tubman (1941), The Life of John Brown (1977) and his War (1946-47) series, which all recieved local and national acclaim. However in 1949, Lawrence became depressed and checked himself into Hillside Hospital. where he stayed for 11 months and created works depicting life inside the hospital. After leaving Hillside, Lawrence began teaching at Pratt Institute, The New School for Social Research and the Art Students League. In the 1970’s, Lawrence would go on to accept a tenured teaching position at the University of Seattle, staying there until he retired in 1986. Lawrence spent most of the 1970’s, 80’s and 90’s working on commissioned paintings like the Origins Mural for Howard University. He also received many honors such as the National Medal of Arts in 1990, and the Medal of Honor from the National Arts Club in 1994. After an active life and long celebrated career in the arts, Lawrence died in his home in Seattle, Washington.
529 West 20th Street, #10E, New York, NY 10011 ∙ 212-333-2640 ∙ www.billhodgesgallery.com
Bill Hodges Gallery Nikki Lee (1970)
The Exotic Dancer Project (23), 2000 Fujiflex C-Print, Image: 23 ¾ x 33 ¾, in. Sheet: 30 x 40 in.
Nikki Lee (Kye-Chang, SK; 1970) is a Korean born American photographer and cinematographer. Born SeungHee Lee, Lee was captivated by media from an early age. After aspiring and soon abandoning her dream to become na actress, Lee earned her BFA in photography at Chung-Ang University in South Korea. A year later, Lee moved to New York to study commercial photography at the Fashion Institute of Technology and then going on to earn her MFA in photography at New York University in 1998. During her studies, Lee was an assistant to fashion photography David LaChapelle. Though she loved working in fashion photography, Lee soon discovered that she wanted to embark on her own stylistic journey as a photographer. Lee is most known for her Projects (1997-2001) series, where she studied and performed the aesthetics of certain subcultures (punk rockers, swing dancers, drag queens, etc.) and photographed herself. Lee’s work is in the collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington D.C.; International Center of Photography, New York and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York.
529 West 20th Street, #10E, New York, NY 10011 ∙ 212-333-2640 ∙ www.billhodgesgallery.com
Bill Hodges Gallery Norman Lewis (1909 - 1979)
Untitled, 1970 Oil on Paper, 43 x 31 ¾ in.
Norman Lewis (New York, NY; 1909 – New York, NY; 1979) was born to Bermudian parents in Harlem, and gravitated to art from childhood. Lewis studied drawing and commercial design in high school then worked as a merchant marine until returning to New York and to study under Augusta Savage and at Columbia University, from 1933 to 1935. These years were incredibly valuable for Lewis as he met many other Black artists, writers and creatives. As a result of this period, Lewis joined 306 Group - a group of artists including Jacob Lawrence, Charles Alston and Ralph Ellison who worked to promote and support other upcoming Black artists. With the help of his friends at 306 Group, Lewis became a founding member of the Harlem Artists’ Guild in 1935. A year later he became a teacher at the Harlem Community Arts Center through the WPA (Works Progress Administration). While teaching in the 1930’s, Lewis’ style was social realist marked with influences of Cubism, African sculpture, jazz and “new Negro” as coined by Alain Locke. In the 1940’s, after WPA ended, Lewis taught at the newly built George Washington Carver School in Harlem alongside Elizabeth Catlett and Charles White. During this time, his style also slowly evolved more towards abstraction with the use of calligraphic lines and loose representations. In the late 1940’s, Lewis began exhibiting by himself and alongside other abstract expressionists. Lewis was the only Black artist of the group and has only posthumous gained respect and renown for his contributions to the movement. Though his shift in genre separated him from his more realist peers in Harlem, he still remained close and co-founded the Spiral Group in 1963 with Romare Bearden, Alston and Hale Woodruff. His commitment to Black artists and the civil rights movement continued as he pursued his art. In 1969, he also opened the Cinque gallery with Bearden and Ernest Circhlow. Lewis’ works are on display in a number of major museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Whitney Museum of American Art.
529 West 20th Street, #10E, New York, NY 10011 ∙ 212-333-2640 ∙ www.billhodgesgallery.com
Bill Hodges Gallery Pablo Picasso (1881 - 1973)
Le Cocu Posant pour une photographie devant des spectateurs, 1966 Etching with Aquatint on Wove Paper, Edition of 50, Image: 8 ½ x 12⅝ in., Paper: 14 ⅝ x 18 ⅜ in.
Pablo Picasso (Málaga, Spain; 1881- Mougins, France; 1973) is one of the most recognizable names in art history, with his impact on modern art history being indisputable. Influenced by African masks, Picasso painted the large scale masterpiece Les Demoiselle d’Avignon (1907), solidifying him as a forefather of modern abstraction. The techniques exercised in this work inspired Cubism, a groundbreaking artistic movement which Picasso developed in conjunction with friend and collaborator George Braque. Most closely associated with the Paris School, Picasso interacted and collaborated with other significant artists working in Paris in the early part of the 20th century, like Henri Matisse, famously brought together by art collector and writer Gertrude Stein. Over the course of his decades long artistic career, Picasso produced over 20,000 paintings, prints, drawings, sculptures, ceramics, theater sets, and costumes that explore pertinent intellectual, political, and social messages. His famous large scale mural Guernica (1937) reflects the horror and misery experienced by the victims of the Spanish Civil War, becoming an internationally recognized symbol of antiwar sentiment. His artistic output throughout his career is interwoven with significant artistic movements in 20th century art history, and his work famously influenced other major movements like Surrealism, Social Realism, and Expressionism. Today, Picasso’s work is widely exhibited and prominently featured in significant institutions like the Tate Gallery, London; the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.; the Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
529 West 20th Street, #10E, New York, NY 10011 ∙ 212-333-2640 ∙ www.billhodgesgallery.com
Bill Hodges Gallery John T. Scott (1940 - 2007)
Scene from a One Act Play & Other Week End Dramas, 1986
John Terrell Scott (New Orleans, LA; 1940 - Houston, TX; 2007) began experimenting with art from an early age because of his mother’s embroidery work. Scott graduated from Xavier University of Louisiana with a BFA and later in 1965 he received an MFA from Michigan State University. In 1983, Scott received a grant to study under sculptor George Rickey, a well-known kinetic sculptor. The two artists share a fascinating, abstract use of geometric shapes and kinetics. Scott went on to become an instructor at his alma mater, Xavier University, for 40 years and taught painting, drawing, print-making, sculpting, paper making, bronze casting, and calligraphy. In 1992, he was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship. And after gaining attention among artists and collectors, he received honorary degrees from multiple universities including Loyola University of Louisiana, Tulane University, Madonna College of Michigan, Michigan State and Xavier University of Louisiana.
529 West 20th Street, #10E, New York, NY 10011 ∙ 212-333-2640 ∙ www.billhodgesgallery.com
Bill Hodges Gallery Henri Le Sidaner (1862 - 1939)
Vue à Bruges, 1911 Mixed Media on Paper, 9 ½ x 11 ¼ in. Henri Le Sidaner ( Port Lous, Mauritius; 1862 – Paris, France; 1939) is a French painter and pastellist best known for his intimate, domestic scenes and quiet, urban and rural landscapes. Described as the last of the Impressionists, Le Sidaner’s work possesses a romantic and mysterious quality. His signature dappled brushstroke diffused light and shadow in his paintings, evoking a sense of intimate sentimentality. His artistic style, method of working, and subject matter of choice situate him in Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, and Symbolist discourses. Born in Port Louis, Mauritius in 1862, Henri Le Sidaner developed an affinity for drawing early in life, and began studying art when his family moved to Dunkirk, France in 1872. In 1880, Le Sidaner moved to Paris, sparking his initial interest in Impressionism and Post Impressionism. He enrolled at École des Beaux-Arts in 1882, but left as he was dissatisfied in the academic atmosphere and found the work of Monet, Manet, and other contemporaries to be more captivating to him. He moved to Étaples on the Côte d’Opale in 1885, where he would spend nine years developing his personal painting technique in relative solitude. Henri Le Sidaner’s early work focused on young women within crepuscular landscapes, linking him with the Symbolist movement even in the formative years of his career. It was not until 1896 that Le Sidaner interacted with Symbolist circles and integrated their theories and techniques into his work. Using a more classical formula, Le Sidaner focused on melancholic atmospheres devoid of human presence. Throughout his career, Le Sidaner remained interested in light, using an uneven, dappled brushstroke to create a luminescent flow in his paintings. Starting in 1900, Le Sidaner moved to Beauvais, and his work focused primarily on provincial landscapes of his home. He died in 1939 in Paris, France. Henri Le Sidaner is a celebrated artist, being exhibited through his career and posthumously. He was exhibited at the Salon Des Artistes Français and Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts during his lifetime, and was the subject of exhibitions at Goupil Gallery in London and Galerie Georges Petit in Paris. In 1900, Sidaner received the bronze medal at the Exposition Universelle, and he was named president of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in 1937. Today, Le Sidaner is included in the collections of prominent institutions like the Art Institute of Chicago, Musée d’Orsay, the National Gallery of Art, and the Tate Gallery.
529 West 20th Street, #10E, New York, NY 10011 ∙ 212-333-2640 ∙ www.billhodgesgallery.com
Bill Hodges Gallery David Smith (1906 - 1965)
ΔS 11/7/54 4, 1954 Oil, Egg Ink, and Tempera on Paper, 15 ¾ x 20 ¼ in. David Smith (Decatur, Indiana; 1906 – South Shaftsbury, Vermont 1965) is a painter, draughtsman, and most notably a sculptor, considered to be one of the greatest sculptors of the 20th century. Best known for his geometric welded sculptures, the artist is credited with being the first artist to knowingly create a welded sculpture in America. Smith’s sculptures translated the painterly concerns of Abstract Expressionist to the three dimensional plane, making him the only Abstract Expressionist sculptor. His impact upon modern art history is undeniable, greatly influencing the minimalist movement and inspiring subsequent generations of sculptors. Born in Decatur, Indiana in 1906, David Smith developed his interest in the arts growing up in Ohio, attending drawing classes at Cleveland Art School in 1921. He attended Ohio University for one year before dropping out. That summer, Smith worked as a welder and riveter at the Studebaker automobile factory, where he developed a strong understanding of industrial materials and techniques that would greatly inform his work. In 1926, Smith moved to New York to study at the Art Students League, where he studied painting under Jan Matulka. It was at the Art Students League that Smith found a community of artists, including Willem de Kooning, Arshile Gorky, Stuart Davis, and most notably, John Graham. Graham exposed Smith to the welded sculptures of Picasso and Julio Gonzales, which inspired the artists’ own exploration of the medium. Smith started working with sculpture in the 1930s, making welded constructions with found objects and forged metal. Smith’s sculptors range from pure geometric abstract works to figurative impressions, grappling with the boundaries between the industrial and nature. Known for integrating open space into the sculptural form, Smith questioned what sculpture can be, and challenged the relationship between a given space and sculpture. Smith’s inquiries were not limited to sculpture. He explored his compositions through various materials, like drawings and paintings. Smith settled in Bolton’s Landing in Upstate New York beginning in 1940, where he lived until his untimely death in 1965. He died of a motorcycle accident at the age of 59. Today, his works are featured in the collections of a number of prominent institutions like The Museum of Modern Art, the Hirshhorn Museum, and the Guggenheim Collection in Venice, to name a few. Major retrospectives of his works have exhibited Smith’s extensive oeuvre, most notably the Storm King Art Center (1997 – 1999), Sezon Museum of Art (1994), and MNCA, Reina Sofia (1996). His last work, Cubi XXVII (1965) produced a record breaking sale in postwar art at Sotheby’s in 2005. 529 West 20th Street, #10E, New York, NY 10011 ∙ 212-333-2640 ∙ www.billhodgesgallery.com
Bill Hodges Gallery William Villalongo (1975)
If This World Were Mine I’d Make U A Queen Cut Velour Paper, 26 ¾ x 18 ¾ in.
William Villalongo (Hollywood, FL; 1975) is an American painter, printmaker, sculptor and installation artist. Villalongo is also a professor at Cooper Union in New York City, his almamater. After graduating from Cooper Union in 1999, Villalongo recieved his MFA from the Tyler School of Fine Art at Temple University in 2001. Villalongo’s work discusses the politics of historical erasure and the cultural and social histories of Black people. Villalongo has been exhibited in museums across the United States including the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African American Arts and Culture, Charlotte, NC; el Museo del Barrio, Bronx, NY; the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland; the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA; the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York and more. Villalongo has also had residencies at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, the Studio Museum in Harlem and the Hermitage Artist Retreat. The artist currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
529 West 20th Street, #10E, New York, NY 10011 ∙ 212-333-2640 ∙ www.billhodgesgallery.com
Bill Hodges Gallery Kara Walker (1969)
buoy, 2010 Etching with Aquatint, Sugar-Lift, Spit-bite and Dry-point, Printed on Hahnemuhle Copperplate Bright White 300gm Paper, Edition of 30 Image: 23 ¾ x 32 ¼ in., Paper: 30 ¼ x 36 ¼ in.
Kara Walker (Stockton, CA; 1969) was surrounded by art from a young age due in part to her father, Larry Walker, who worked as a painter. From the tender age of 3, Kara Walker decided that she wanted to be an artist as well and began by drawing on the sidewalks outside her home. During her adolescence, the Walker family moved to Georgia and Kara Walker attended the Atlanta College of Art where she earned her B.F.A in painting and printmaking in 1991. During her undergraduate career, Walker admitted that she struggled with confronting race in her work for fear of being pigeonholed but during her MFA program at Rhode Island School of Design, she began undertaking race as a theme in her works and now her oeuvre is best known for her use of silhouetted characters that tackle issues of race and sexuality. Walker’s work has been exhibited at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; and Whitney Museum of American Art, New York and more. She is a 1997 recipient of the MacArthur Fellowship and was the United States representative to the 2002 25th Bienal de São Paulo. The artist currently lives and works in New York.
529 West 20th Street, #10E, New York, NY 10011 ∙ 212-333-2640 ∙ www.billhodgesgallery.com
Bill Hodges Gallery Carrie Mae Weems (1953)
When and Where I Enter, 2006 Digital C Print, Edition of 30 Image: 18 x 18 in., Paper: 30 x 24 in.
Carrie Mae Weems (Portland, OR; 1953) is an American artist. Though she is well known for her work in photography, Weems studied modern dance at university and it was not until the age of 21 that Weems received her first camera. Her interest in photography took off from there. In the 70’s while in college Weems started her first major photographic series, Family Pictures and Stories. While still working in the photographic medium, Weems received a BFA from the California Institutes of the Arts, a MFA from the University of California, San Diego and a MA from the University of California, Berkeley. Weems’ work focuses on storytelling. Many of her works explore various topics such as class, gender roles, sexism, class and the history of racism. When she first began her “journey in the arts” she started in documentary photography, creating various photographic series like Colored People and Kitchen Table Series. Her work is powerful and provocative and goes beyond capturing history or contemporary life, revealing the emotional content and hushed over topics in history. Through the years Weems’ work has been commissioned by and shown at many institutions such as the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. She has also received many accolades like receiving an Honorary Degree from Colgate University. Most recently in 2013 she received the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship. To this day Weems continues to create works, both working and residing in Syracuse, New York.
529 West 20th Street, #10E, New York, NY 10011 ∙ 212-333-2640 ∙ www.billhodgesgallery.com
Bill Hodges Gallery Francisco Zúñiga (1912 - 1998)
Desnudo Sentado, 1978 Sepia Crayon on Ingres-Fabriano Paper, 27 5/8 x 19 3/8 in.
Francisco Zúñiga (Guadalupe, CR; 1912 - Tlalpan, MX; 1998) was born to two respected Costa Rican sculptors and took an interest in art and sculpting at an early age. By the age of 15, Zúñiga was already working in his father’s studio making religious figures and working with stone. Also around this time, Zúñiga enrolled in the Escuela de Bellas Artes in Mexico only to drop out after a year to pursue his own study course. A major discovery in his studies was German Expressionism and the works of French sculptors Auguste Rodin and Aristide Maillol which inspired his technique into one that was more expressive. By 1929, Zúñiga won his first major award, second place at the Exposición Nacional de Bellas Artes and in 1935, Zúñiga won first place in the Salón de Escultura en Costa Rica for his piece “La maternidad” but due to the “controversial” nature of the work, the government rescinded his award. Some time later, Zúñiga’s friends and collegues organized his first solo show in Costa Rica, the earnings from which paid for Zúñiga to permanently immigrate to Mexico City in 1936. While living in Mexico, Zúñiga studied under artists like Manuel Rodriguez Lozano and Guillermo Ruiz and by 1938, Zúñiga began teaching at La Esmeralda, an art school in Mexico City, and remained on staff until his retirement in 1970. Zúñiga has received many awards and accolades like the first prize in sculpture from Mexico’s National Institute of Fine Arts in 1958, the Acquisition Price at the 1971 Biennial of Open Air Sculpture of Middelheim and the first Kataro Takamura Prize from the third Biennial of Sculpture in Japan. Zúñiga also had works of his acquired by the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in the 1940s. In 1986, Zúñiga officially became a Mexican citizen.
529 West 20th Street, #10E, New York, NY 10011 ∙ 212-333-2640 ∙ www.billhodgesgallery.com