A pillar of the Malta International Contemporary Art Museum programme will be to present the work of global artists who have earned recognition for their singular approach to creating art. African American painter Reggie Burrows Hodges (b. 1965, Compton, California) pursues a strong visual narrative in his works, which explore questions of identity, community and memory.
This solo exhibition, which will extend across all gallery levels, will feature recent paintings which will illustrate Hodges’ singular technique of employing a black ground across his canvases and then developing the scene around his figures with painterly, loose brushwork. A technique which deliberately plays with perceptions by reducing the focus on the human figure, which is essentially formed by the negative space within the composition; a practice which accentuates the environment where the figures are situated rather than the figures themselves.
Hodges’ early study of performance and film brings a sense of dramatic staging to his compositions, which, coupled by a softness in the application of paint, ensures a subtlety of approach in addressing the challenging universal themes of existence which he explores.
Reggie Burrows Hodges is due to have exhibitions in an number of significant museums across the United States over the next few years, and Malta International Contemporary Art Museum is particularly delighted to have engaged him at this time to develop and present a new exhibition specifically for the museum.
