Jim Hodges

Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, The Art Auction, September 1995
Acquired by the present owner from the above sale

This work is in very good condition overall. There is minimal evidence of light wear.
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"Certain acts dazzle us and light up blurred surfaces if our eyes are keen enough to see them in a flash, for the beauty of a living thing can be grasped only fleetingly. To pursue it during its changes leads us inevitably to the moment when it ceases, for it cannot last a lifetime. And to analyze it, that is, to pursue it in time with the sight and imagination, is to view it in its decline, for after the thrilling moment in which it reveals itself it diminishes in intensity." - Jean Genet, Miracle of the Rose, 1946

Like his predecessor and inspiration, Jean Genet, Jim Hodges' work is at once poignant and profoundly beautiful. Through his intricate re-crafting of unorthodox materials such as light bulbs, mirrors, silk scarves and silver chains, Hodges' carefully constructed works and installations poetically convey the passage of time. Mundane objects are painstakingly manipulated to become breathtaking mementos of memory and loss.

Hodges first came to prominence in the early 1990s with a body of work that explored themes of love, loss, beauty and nature. Inspired by his friend and contemporary Felix González-Torres, he used everyday objects as vehicles for remembrance and relied on the viewer to contribute to the works' timeless relevance. Like Felix González-Torres, Hodges was interested in conveying life's inherent fragility.

Up until the late 1980s, Hodges had been working primarily on drawings of roses which he created using paper and Scotch tape.  He soon began thinking of these works as too fragile and moved on to chains in 1989 as an extension of his drawing practice. The silver chain, both physically and conceptually strong became an alternative to a medium that was seemingly and symbolically weak. Hodges' work is also deeply influenced by powerful, personal histories. He drew inspiration for his web motif from many layers of memories: from the countless childhood hours he spent drawing in the woods of Spokane, Washington to the stage of a rock concert, which displayed a giant web of rope, the artist's silver chains are rife with intimate stories.

Like his later flower curtain series, Hodges' spider webs, which began in 1991, highlight the materiality of the mundane and the ignored. When the spider webs first appeared in group gallery exhibitions they were strategically placed away from the viewer's immediate gaze; in closets and in high corners. They were tucked away almost as a glittering and unexpected surprises for the gallery goers.

Lots (For Amanda) from 1995-2002, shines and traps the viewer in its tangled web of chains. One of the artist's most captivating creations, the elaborate and delicate arrangement of five webs stretch across a wall as a rich stream of powerful, emotional associations. The thin strands of silver-plated chain have a polished and pristine veneer subverting the cultural connotations of the spider web as a symbol of aging and decay. In this lyrical web, the organic becomes industrial and nature's intricate design is rendered as a glittering ornament suggestive of love, remembrance and mortality.