Exhibition: Agnew & Sons Ltd. 1966 – Eliot Hodgkin
Article: by Marjorie Bruce-Milne
Publication: Christian Science Monitor
Most people would hardly glance twice at the materials which Eliot Hodgkin bases his paintings in tempera or oil. But seen through his eyes, a withered leaf picked up from the gutter, or a group of lemons on the kitchen table, takes on an unexpected beauty. So does a group of oddly shaped oil cans used originally to lubricate old-fashioned steam engines. A few of these cans, now hard to come by and regarded as collector’s items, the artist has turned into an interesting and arresting painting. It is included in Eliot Hodgkin’s current exhibition at the Gallery of Thomas Agnew & Sons, Ltd., in London. About half the works are in tempera, half in oil.
Tempera is difficult to use and demands much skill and patience. Because the egg content dries so quickly, the mixture has to be applied with speed, with fine brushes and in very small strokes. But in the hands of an expert, tempera is an effective medium. It gives a glow to the surface and is practically indestructible. In these paintings Mr. Hodgkin conveys texture so vividly that on almost hears the crackle of the bone-dry leaf or feels the sharp edge of a fractured flint stone against one’s fingers.
In the oils the treatment if of course broader. But here again the artist shows his delight in exploring contrasting textures. In this “Two Pears on a Windowsill,” there is a precise description of the characteristics of the various components: the stone, the wood, the fruit. But the parts are built up into what would be a satisfying abstract design even if the colour and some of the detail were lacking.
These miniature masterpieces do not fit into any current trend or fashion. They are sensitive and elegant statements of an artist’s discovery of beauty in unexpected things and places. The exhibition will remain open at the Agnew Gallery in Bond Street through December 17.
By Marjorie Bruce Milne. Reprinted with permission from the December 13, 1966 issue of The Christian Science Monitor. © 1966 The Christian Science Monitor (www.CSMonitor.com).