Jim Hodges

Galerie Ghislaine Hussenot, Paris
Acquired by the present owner from the above

Paris, Galerie Ghislaine Hussenot, Jim Hodges, 1997

This work is in excellent condition overall. The threads that stitch the elements together appear to all be intact. The work can be installed in rooms of varying ceiling height as, according to the artist, it is permissible for the bottom of the work to pool on the floor. The work is installed to the ceiling with the use of several push pins. To install the work, it is helpful to draw a straight line on the ceiling. Start with the work on the floor, attaching the top of the work to a wood bar with the push pins. Raise the bar to the ceiling and transfer the push pins and the work to the ceiling.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Merely standing beside Jim Hodges' When We Stay is an overwhelming visual and sensory experience. The 20-foot floral curtain, delicately stitched out of silk-petaled flowers, spreads like an inverted garden before the viewer. Despite its grand scale, this work demonstrates the visual power of intimate construction and of minute detail. Hodges typically works in domestic, unconventional materials, from paper napkins to glass, and his meticulous, labor-intensive process imbues his installations with a visual poetry attuned to the undeniable temporality of craft. This brilliantly vivid veil – transparent, almost-liquid – invites enchantment and tactile curiosity. The intricate vastness of When We Stay speaks to Hodge's celebration of interrelations and connections, working with the incidental to express something universal. As Hodges explained in 1998, his works "attempt to talk about the bigness of things, the wonder and the greatness of all life." (Dana Self, Jim Hodges: Welcome, Kansas City, 1998 [exhibition brochure for Kemper Museum of Art]).