Howard Hodgkin (1932 – 2017) is widely regarded as one of the world’s greatest painters and has been a central figure in contemporary art for over half a century.
This is the first comprehensive exhibition to explore the enduring influence of India on Hodgkin’s work, a place he returned to almost annually, since his first trip to the country in 1964, over 50 years ago.
On display will be approximately 35 works, painted over that last 50 years that characterise the colour and warmth of India and capture the artist’s sensory impressions of the country – from fierce blazing sunsets to heavy oppressive rains, landscapes and cities he visited, and portraits of the people he befriended. They range from Hodgkin’s earliest India-inspired paintings of the 1960s through to new works completed in the last year. It will include a number of paintings that have never before been exhibited in the UK.
Also on show are rarely seen photographs and documents from Hodgkin’s personal archive including material relating to his 1992 British Council commission in New Delhi with the architect Charles Correa, as well as journals kept by the artist documenting his journeys in India, to be displayed publicly for the first time. These will be shown alongside works from the artist’s personal collection of Indian art, which first led Hodgkin to visit the country and provoked his enduring love affair with the place and its people.
Howard Hodgkin said: “I fell in love with Indian art when I was at school, thanks to the enterprising art master, Wilfrid Blunt. I longed to visit India, but only managed to do so in my early twenties. It proved a revelation. It changed my way of thinking and, probably, the way I paint. I am excited by the idea of this exhibition and delighted it will take place in David Chipperfield’s remarkable building, The Hepworth Wakefield, where I greatly enjoyed the show of paintings by Stanley Spencer.”
| Duration | 01 July 2017 - 08 October 2017 |
| Times | Tuesday – Sunday, 10am - 5pm Closed Mondays, except local school holidays and bank holiday Monday |
| Cost | Free |
| Venue | The Hepworth Wakefield |
| Address | Gallery Walk, Wakefield, WF1 5AW , , |
| Contact | 01924 247360 / hello@hepworthwakefield.org / http://www.hepworthwakefield.org/ |