Clive Hodgson - signed paintings at 42 Carlton Place

 Another wonderful exhibition at 42 Carlton Place. The paintings, all unframed are simply hung on the wall with pins or resting on nails. This simplicity is matched in the work. Hodgson uses subtle colours, often created through the layering of different shades. These are revealed when Hodgson signs and dates his work, often removing the top layer of paint to show what lies beneath.

Clive Hodgson’s paintings can be lyrical, disarming or mordant. They evoke emblem, signage and diagram.

Becoming known in the 1980s for anecdotal figuration, he has moved through alternations and combinations of abstraction and representation, deploying varied technical means: geometric pattern; stenciling; apparently casual daubing; stipple and spatter; ornamental calligraphic design. His diverse strategies build to a concerted interrogation of the puzzles of art and life.

The current exhibition is largely of recent work in which the signing (and dating) of the paintings is a significant part of imagery and content.

Clive Hodgson was born in Nottingham in 1953. He studied at St. Martin’s School of Art 1971-72 and the Slade School of Art 1972-77. He had a residency at The British School at Rome in 1998. Recent exhibitions have included: 2005 ‘Incorrigible, Sentimental’, Filles du Calvaire Brussels; 2006 Terrace London; 2008 ‘False Friends’, Five Years London; 2012 Broadbent London; ‘ Ever Since I Put Your Picture in a Frame’, 42 Carlton Place Glasgow; ‘The Smallest Composite Number’, Standpoint London.