Art Review: Howard Hodgkin’s studio and ‘When Forms Come Alive’, Hayward Gallery

March 1st 2024

Student Review of the Year 12 Art Trip, February, 2024

We went to see Howard Hodgkin’s (1932-2017) beautiful studio in Central London. It was his original studio where he spent many years creating pieces like ‘Black as Egypt’s night’ which took over 8 years to create! We were toured round with his partner of 33 years, his assistant of 20 years and his archivist. They all spoke of him very fondly and were deeply knowledgeable of his work. His painting technique took place over a long period of time, with him often painting in layers, allowing only some sections to be revealed at a time. He only painted one painting at a time as he did not want the paintings ‘to compete with each other.’ The studio ranged from one of his first painting ‘Memoirs’ which used harsh figurative lines to ‘Eclipse’ which was painted in 2017 which was looser and freer. On the floor, remained the paint from his past projects which created an even more authentic experience, and we were allowed to browse through his wide array of books. He thought of himself as not an abstract painter but someone who would paint memories and the emotions of the moment. We all really enjoyed the in-depth tour of his studio.

Hodgkin in his studio

After visiting Hodgkin’s studio, the 20 of us made our way over to the Hayward gallery on the Southbank. We have recently been looking at sculpture as part of our new ‘Construct Deconstruct’ project and the exhibition we visited paired well with what we’ve done in class over the last few weeks. ‘When Forms Come Alive’ explored over 60 years of contemporary sculpture showcasing a wide range of forms and materials, with the artists often drawing on concepts of movement, flux and organic growth.

Some of the most memorable sculptures from the exhibition included Tara Donovan’s mylar structures which uses the juxtaposition of human-made materials forming a sculpture inspired by nature. These included thousands of flat circular discs made of mylar (a mirrored reflective material) being intricately folded and hot glued into giant spheres - this together seems to mimic the pattern of biological molecules. Another memorable work was Choi Jeong Hwa’s columns of discarded junk acting as symbols of memory across time, space and different cultures; with the everyday items of different textures and the use of symmetry, again echoing structures found in nature. Finally, the work of Ernesto Neto was mesmerising for his dangling pods, reminiscent of a jungle canopy or a spider’s web after a successful catch and made from crochet dyed with turmeric, cloves, cumin, pepper and ginger.

Mylar

It will be exciting to see how this inspiring trip visit informs our own artwork in the coming weeks with the annual Summer Art Show (Private View on 11^th June) exhibiting our final pieces in this project.

Isabella Bradley, Izzy Reese and Maddie Marshall - Year 12 A Level Art Students