12th Nov, 2017 17:00
Historic, Modern & Contemporary Art
64
Robert Hodgins (South Africa 1920-2010)
Office Hours
oil on canvas
Artwork date: 2006
Signature details: signed, dated, inscribed with the title and medium on the reverse
Sold for R738,920
Estimated at R700,000 - R1,000,000
oil on canvas
Artwork date: 2006
Signature details: signed, dated, inscribed with the title and medium on the reverse
(1)
90 x 120 cm
Notes:
Deceptively naïve and forthright in style, this striking painting by Robert Hodgins is an intriguing psychological portrait of individual and group male identity. The off-key combination of colours adds to the painting’s psychological tension as does the rigid block of flourescent lights in the upper-left corner of the frame. In the foreground two men converse closely, the red heat of their dialogue rushing across the face of the one man and down the back of the other man’s neck. Against the wall, a group of three men gather at what appears to be a urinal, an after-trail of red dots recalling the naphthalene balls commonly used to deodorise men’s washrooms. The two figures on the right appear to be facing one another, echoing the postures of the men in the foreground. The figure on the far right seems to have his arm on the shoulder of the man next to him in a masculine gesture of greeting or congratulations, breaking the heteronormative code of no physical contact in the men’s room. The forms of the figures merge fluidly in an otherwise tight and strictly delineated composition.Meanwhile, an alienated character exits the stark scene solo. Recalling William Kentridge’s stop-frame animation film Memo (1993–94), in which Hodgins plays the part of a beleaguered businessman under siege by the banal objects in his office, the figure of the man in a suit predominates in Hodgins’ later work. ‘Such works encode what one might call the erotics of power,’ writesAlex Horsler. ‘The suited gentry and uniformed officers of state power are seldom specific individuals but rather representative archetypes in a fictive mind-scape.’ (Horsler, 2012: 213) If the metaphor of the suit is to be understood as exemplifying hegemonic masculinity, Hodgins’ depictions of men in suits might equally be read as intimately inhabiting, lampooning, questioning and slyly undercutting this established trope.
Alexandra Dodd
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Auction: Historic, Modern & Contemporary Art, 12th Nov, 2017
Aspire’s final auction for 2017 ended the year on a high note with a collection of top historical, modern and contemporary artworks.
A number of superb historic paintings came to auction, dating back to the late nineteenth century. Among them were works by Hugo Naudé, Anton Van Wouw, and Dorothy Kay. A fine collection of mid-twentieth century modern work by South Africa’s best-known artists at auction including Edoardo Villa, Maggie Laubser, Sydney Kumalo and Irma Stern were also on offer. The top lot by value was, however, a contemporary work. A superb drawing by world-renowned South African artist William Kentridge. Drawing from Mine (Soho with coffee plunger and cup) (1991), sold for R5 456 640, a record for a drawing by Kentridge in South Africa.
Viewing
Thursday 9 November 2017 | 10 am – 5 pm
Friday 10 November 2017 | 10 am – 5 pm
Saturday 11 November 2017 | 10 am – 5 pm
Sunday 12 November 2017 | 10 am – 3 pm
HIGHLIGHTS
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