In 1995 Noel Hodnett was invited to exhibit
his work as part of the 1st Johannesburg ‘Africus 95’ Biennial in a major
solo exhibition at the Everard Read Gallery,
Johannesburg, South Africa. In 1997 his work was selected for inclusion in “The South African Landscape – Four
Points of View” exhibition at ‘Art First – Contemporary Art’, London, U.K.
Hodnett's well-received
"Portraits of the Forgotten" exhibition, featuring portraits of Steve Biko, Stompie Seipei and Masha Bruskina, was held at the Britannia Community Centre
Project Gallery in East Vancouver in May 2002. These works now form
part of the permanent collection at Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC.
The artist's first major solo
exhibition in North America was held in November 2002 at the Ballard Lederer Gallery
(now Elliot Louis Gallery) in Vancouver, British
Columbia.
In 2007 the Director and
Curator of
Simon Fraser University Galleries, Bill Jeffries, invited Noel Hodnett to exhibit a series of paintings depicting, among others, victims of
authoritarian regimes. The "Memory, History and Loss" exhibition centered around four paintings that
were donated to the University by the artist the previous year. At the
opening reception the artist announced that the balance of the 8 works on
show would be donated to the University. These works will go on permanent
display at SFU's Vancouver campus.
Noel Hodnett actively
supported the Canadian Foundation
for Trauma Research and
Arts Umbrella in 2006 and 2007 by donating major works to their respective annual
charity auctions. A substantial amount of money for these worthy causes was
raised from the sale of these works.
The artist is the subject of a 12 minute documentary film
(2001) by Swiss
film maker Verena Endtner entitled "Noel
Hodnett - Portrait of a Painter" .
~ Quotes:
"Hodnett shocks and repels, yet one is drawn back time and
time again to be seduced and energized by the sheer beauty of paint application, the
mastery of space articulation, the exploitation of the expressive aspects of visual
experience and artifice." - Marilyn Martin -
Director, South African National Gallery.
"The work is sensuous and expressionistic, and has much in
common with contemporary British painting in its exaltation of paint." - E.M. - The Art Newspaper , United
Kingdom.
"Noel Hodnett's painting
practice is arguably the most diverse and prolific of any Vancouver painter.
His depictions are dense, layered, and achieve what the American poet Lorine
Niedecker termed the state of being 'a condensery'."
- Bill Jeffries - Director/Curator,
Simon Fraser University
Art Galleries, Vancouver, Canada.
"Hodnett's paintings are never merely descriptive, for they
finally depict journeys of the psyche, not destinations of the soma." - Denise Louw - South African Author and Journalist
"His art immediately commands admiration for its painterly
knowledge and also for the depth and range of experience he incorporates in his canvases,
for he constantly reaches beyond the obvious to the hidden imaginative and spiritual
meanings." -
Doris Shadbolt
- Author and Curator, Canada. (Curator/Associate Director -
Vancouver Art
Gallery, 1963 - 1975)
"There is a message in Hodnett’s paintings to be noticed; it refuses to be
ignored, and deserves to be contemplated."
- Megan
Lau - Art Critic, SFU Student Newspaper.
"In the final analysis Hodnett is
a master of his craft and a manipulator of paint that few have achieved." - Professor Michael Hallier - Artist / Educator
(Head of the Fine Art Department, Fort Hare University, Alice, S.A. !981 - 2000)
"As an artist of undisputed technical acumen, Hodnett's
paintings are painted with apparent abandon despite the formality of their underlying
structure." - Hazel Friedman - Art Critic - The
Star.
"Hodnett revels in the use of the paint itself. The
subject.....to me is less important than his inspired, sensual use of paint for paint's
sake. Get up close and take in passages of the painting." - Kin Bentley - Art
Critic - The Herald
"His paintings are so large and epic in nature that they seem to
explode in the confines of the galleries" - Mia Johnson -
Preview
- The Gallery Guide. |
