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‘Small pictures can be as large in a public sense as huge pictures. Sometimes more so.’ 1993
During the 1980s Hodgkin continued to experiment with scale. Snapshot 1984–93 was one of his largest works and its title underplays the nine years that it took him to complete. Meanwhile, Fisherman’s Cove 1993, one of Hodgkin’s smallest paintings, possesses a fluidity and boldness of brushstroke that appears disproportionate to its size. These works demonstrate Hodgkin’s ability to make large works seem intimate and small works epic.
Chez Max 1996–7 and Memories of Max 1991–5 commemorate Hodgkin’s architect friend, the late Max Gordon. While Hodgkin’s paintings often represent specific individuals or locations, he remains reluctant to elaborate on his subjects: ‘the more an artist talks about his work, the more his words become attached to it... I want people to look at my pictures as pictures.’
Various found domestic items – stools, table-tops and old clocks – have provided unlikely supports for Hodgkin’s pictures, emphasising his view of them as objects. For example, the knife marks visible in Evening 1994–5 draw attention to the wood panel’s former use as a breadboard.
Howard Hodgkin
Lovers 1984–92 Private Collection Courtesy of Ivor Braka Ltd, London  enlarge this image
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Howard Hodgkin
After Visiting David Hockney (second version) 1991-92 Private Collection enlarge this image
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