British painter Howard Hodgkin has died aged 84

Date
9 March 2017
Above

Howard Hodgkin by Marcella Leith, Tate Photography

Artist Howard Hodgkin, known for his vibrantly colourful abstract paintings and prints, has died aged 84. He won the Turner Prize in 1985, represented Britain at the Venice Biennale in 1984 and was knighted in 1992, as well as having several notable solo shows at leading galleries including The Met, Tate Britain and Madrid’s Reina Sofia.

His signature broad brushstrokes, vivid hues and energetic compositions are noticeably influential on contemporary art today. Tate director Nicholas Serota, who curated Hodgkin’s first retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art, Oxford in 1976, said he was “one of the great artists and colourists of his generation”.

“His sensuous, intense paintings were infused with his love and understanding of late nineteenth century French painting, especially Degas, Vuillard and Bonnard, and by his feeling for the heat and colours of India, which he visited on many occasions,” Nicholas continues. “His characteristic subject, the memory of a meeting or a conversation with a friend, resulted in paintings that radiate the emotions of life: love, anger, vanity, beauty and companionship.”

The first exhibition of portraits by Hodgkin, Absent Friends, will go on show at the National Portrait Gallery in London from 28 March – 18 June 2017, including portraits of David Hockney and Patrick Caulfield. Another exhibition opening 30 June at Hepworth Wakefield, Howard Hodgkin: Painting India, will display works produced on his latest visit to India.

Above

Howard Hodgkin
Courtesy Tate

Above

Howard Hodgkin
Courtesy Tate

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