Beschreibung:

Jim Hodges The Good News (De Morgen) 2006 24 carat gold leaf on newspaper. Open: 53 x 73 cm. (20 1/8 x 28 3/4 in).
Provenance CRG Gallery, New York Catalogue Essay Using a wide range of media, the American artist Jim Hodges has over the last twenty years created a complex oeuvre layered with meaning. Exploring universal themes such as life, death, nature, beauty and the passing of time, his work can be seen as a coming to terms with life and his own sense of self. Interlaced with deeply personal references yet communal in spirit, this form of self-portraiture evades the direct gaze of the viewer and invites many other readings. The present lot, The Good News (De Morgen)- a magnificently delicate and beautiful work- is comprised of a copy of the Belgium daily newspaper, De Morgen, each page covered in 24 carat gold leaf with only the page number left visible at the top corner. In a manner reminiscent of On Kawara and using a medium, gold-leaf, with a long art historical tradition from the Renaissance to the present day, Hodges poetically captures a moment in time, commemorating the day this artwork was made. However, instead of creating a time capsule where the viewer is invited to ponder that day's events, Hodges performs an erasure of time and significance, literally covering up the news. Enveloped in the material of kings and biblically titled, the present lot's sheer, shining beauty enduces in the viewer a certain stillness and calmness, a contemplative state only attainable when confronted with a monochromatic artwork. Like so much of Hodges' oeuvre, The Good News (De Morgen) evokes a sense of turmoil and self reflection that is so romantically tragic that it can’t help but be beautiful. Read More