‘Horse Gossip’ @ Bobinska Brownlee New River Gallery
Nicky Hodge’s paintings, typically on unprimed canvases, are direct, spontaneous and improvised. Steeped in an unsystematic approach, Hodge’s paintings are allusive, drawing upon memory and experience. Working gesturally and using subtle colour combinations, Hodge’s brushstrokes are lyrical, rendering the hand movements of the maker apparent.
Installation view. Source: Max Colson.
Paintings such as Repose (2021) and Gluck (2021) emerge from a process of watery acrylic being poured onto the canvas surface, to only be scrubbed away again, further exposing the surface and materiality of the canvas. In Slip Moon (2021) this effect has turned the darker shades of navy at the bottom into a mere shadow: a ghostly remain of what was there previously.
Repose (2021, Nicky Hodge. Acrylic on raw canvas. Source: Max Colson & Bobinska Brownlee.
Gluck (2021), Nicky Hodge. Acrylic on raw canvas. Source: Max Colson & Bobinska Brownlee.
Slip Moon (2021), Nicky Hodge. Acrylic and spray paint on raw canvas. Source: Max Colson & Bobinska Brownlee.
In other works, less conventional materials cover the canvas surface. Safavida, for example, an all-consuming darkness of thick black acrylic, is heightened in intensity through the use of coal dust. A few skirting lines have been scratched out, leaving curious marks across the canvas.
Safavida (2021), Nicky Hodge. Acrylic and coal dust on raw canvas. Source: Max Colson & Bobinska Brownlee.
Hodge’s muted and mainly monochromatic paintings rely on touch and gesture, and are indicative of a practice that has developed counter to the more extravagant narrative of expressionism. There is a joyful playfulness to Hodge’s works and a palpable sense of freedom in their absence of restraint.
Hodge’s works do not reflect the loud, bashful minimalism of her predecessors, such as Donald Judd or Dan Flavin. They are more quiet and subtle in tone, an air of serenity about them. No two paintings are particularly similar and sometimes difference becomes the defining factor, with paintings sitting in contrasting pairs or small groups of various sizes across the exhibition space.
Installation view. Source: Max Colson.
Paintings of complimentary colours yet differing sizes hung side by side create great contrast within the space: the smaller of the two acting as an echo of the larger. What’s more, the stripped-back setting suits the exhibition’s content: the bare, clean space does not overpower the subtle delicacy of Hodge’s work.
About Bobinska Brownlee New River Gallery
The Bobinska Brownlee New River (BBNR) Gallery, based in Canonbury, provides emerging artists with a creative space in which they are free to experiment and develop their practice. Horse Gossip is on view until October 16th, and will be succeeded by the group exhibition entitled Bed, open from 4th-27th November 2021.
All images courtesy of Max Colson via Bobinska Brownlee.
Olivia Wilson
Reviews Editor, MADE IN BED