Howard Hodgkin: Paintings 1992-2007, Melon Gallery, Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge - Running until Sunday 23rd September 2007. Admission: free It will be quite fitting that Howard Hodgkin will celebrate his 75th birthday during the run of his current exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum.
 | | Flowerpiece, 2004-05 © Howard Hodgkin |
Spanning one fifth of his life, the works display Hodgkin's most recent 15 years, with individual pieces sometimes consuming two or three years before they reach completion. Rarely using a traditional canvas, Hodgkin will recycle wooden panels, from table tops to bread boards, to create what he labels "representational pictures of emotional situations". Sometimes compared to one of the Fitzwilliam mainstays, Henri Matisee, Hodgkin works from memory, both revealing and obscuring his subjects by layering the picture surface with bold colours and distinctive marks. In fact, many of the pieces are influenced by and related to other artists who feature in the Fitzwilliam, such as After Samuel Palmer, the iconic After Degas and the sumptuous After Vuillard, as well as works that explore themes of nature and travel.
 | | After Degas, 1993, oil on wood © Howard |
While Hodgkin is held in high regard, local debate, especially on BBC Radio Cambridegshire's Mid-morning Show with Andie Harper, has raged over the exhibition's artistic worth. Howard Hodgkin: Paintings 1992-2007 runs until late September, so there is no excuse for not visiting the Fitzwilliam and making your own mind up. Once you've done so, Have Your Say and give us your opinion using the forum below. The museum will also be running a wide-ranging programme of special activities, including art and creative writing workshops. Check the Fitzwilliam website for more details. |
