“I partner with everything. I think of composing experiences in space as elementary choreography.” Jim Hodges, 2013
Drawing from an abundant tradition of minimalist and conceptual artists who explored the sublime qualities of light and space, Jim Hodges’s See II from 2003 is a quiet performance of impression, rich in feeling through the duet of light and reflection. His portrayal of the human condition in both the abstract and formal qualities of mirrored surfaces dovetails seamlessly into the omnipresent motif of temporality. Cultivating his approach in a variety of media from photography and works on paper to lightbulbs and silk flowers, his critically-celebrated 2014 retrospective jointly organized by the Dallas Museum of Art and Minneapolis' Walker Art Center unearthed an artist whose oeuvre, and each work within it, maintains an unparalleled depth and breadth. The present lot possesses an inherent gravitas that is acutely submerged with sentiment, confronting issues of the self and the fleeting nature of the world around us. Through Hodges’s profoundly conveyed sensibility, See II elicits experiences that become ingrained within our minds as the energy of the world filtered through its facades ignite a formidable encounter with our own histories.
From Diego Velázquez to Roy Lichtenstein, the mirror and its mysterious aura have been represented throughout the history of art, though Hodges’s works frequently begin as self-effacing through the neglected media that is utterly renewed through his touch. His practice of coalescing drawing and sculpture, particularly in See II, produces a metaphysical dichotomy of fragility and technical mastery of line and shape. Anchoring any room within which it is placed, the present lot’s reflective surfaces capture the light and divulge our surroundings; the refractive polished glass disquietly refuses us any notion of true reality. As time passes our eyes adjust to its distortion, so that if you remain patient, the surfaces will reveal to you their latent depths. The camouflage pattern, as seen in the present lot is significant for the artist, recurring throughout a number of his different creative projects including drawings, paintings, altered photographs and stitched works. By placing this pattern, which alludes to hiding, upon a reflective, mirrored surface the artist is emphasizing the nature of exposure. Hodges creates this double-mirror; a layering that complicates perception, rendering evident the infinite quality of perception and reflection, both literally and cerebrally. Hodges has spoken poignantly of his works as expressive reminders of the development of identity, stating, “I have been through a process of shedding skins, breaking through boundaries—imposed, self-imposed, learned, whatever—and the funny thing is, there’s always another wall that I go crashing into, another layer of crap to shed, another blossom that reveals more complexity and challenges. Thankfully this process doesn’t stop.” (O. Viso, “Choreographing Experiences in Space: Olga Viso Interviews Jim Hodges,” Walker Magazine, 2014). The artist’s wholly unselfish spirit of warmth permeates See II, as he welcomes us into an engaging dialogue of recollection and intensity.
