He had the ability of making me look harder, and the gift of making me search for the hidden.
A paintings title can often escort you on a journey of discovery, however with Hodgkin; titles were often ambiguous and offered little guidance. This introduction through gestural abstraction, taught me that it was not purely by chance that these works were successful, and had appeal. Hodgkin’s work “Memories” walks you through its layered surfaces, and continually pulls you in, eagerly longing to discover where and what the original surface used to be. My inspired work “Recollection” is a play on Hodgkin’s title, and an imparted and grateful acknowledgment, that the partially revealed makes you look that little bit harder." Chris BrookChris Brook RSW RGI - Artist statement
I work from the studio each day, I paint, I draw, I print, I make.
I work on multiple pieces at any one time, some are large, others are smaller.
Starting points vary, depending upon the success of the previous day.
Mark making is paramount, serendipity plays its role, informing as to which direction any particular piece follows. Certain pieces will move closer towards completion, while others will be overpainted allowing the process to start again.
I enjoy the pairing of a painterly mark with a hard graphic line, forever seeking to find an affinity between the two.
I am intrigued by the partially revealed, the traces offering insight into a tangible connection, in both an historical and aesthetic sense, and our innate ability to extract information from the fragile remnants which remain.
These new works reference the permanence of a scarred landscape.
Through a reductive style, they offer a pared down observation of the naturally occurring, and manmade interventions that have marked this land over Millennia.
