Fictions is an exhibition of new work by Gregory Hodge reflecting on multiple ideas that have recently informed his practice. The exhibition is a continuation of Hodge’s interest in the history of painting. He builds upon new ideas around the process of collage as a form and representation of the re-applying and re-contextualising of materials. The exhibition combines new sculptures alongside a series of acrylic paintings on canvas representing an exciting evolution of Hodge’s work.

The sculptures incorporate a number of elements and motifs that Hodge has used in previous paintings, bringing them into a three-dimensional space. Large painted cut-outs on aluminium composite panel of gestural marks, folded drapery, painted textiles and sculptural geological forms are clustered together and suspended from the ceiling, appearing to hover in space. The interplay between painting and trompe-l’oeil shadows, combined with actual shadows cast from one cut-out sculptural form to the next, creates a complex and playful contradiction in these works.

Collages based off sculptures from history as well as studio maquettes built in the studio have long been an essential starting point for Hodges illusionistic paintings. A new series of paintings on canvas reference smaller collages that combine negative silhouettes of figurative busts with abstract compositions. The paintings mimic the slight relief of the collage source material as facial features transform into abstract gestures and geological forms.

Hodge continues to work with an ever-expanding abstract visual language whilst simultaneously drawing on the tropes of painterly and sculptural figurative traditions. Paint takes on a chameleon-like quality, seemingly transforming into different materials and playing with depth of field, oscillating between flatness and volume, illusion and three-dimensional sculptural relief.