Robert Hodgins
Robert Hodgins (b. 1920) was a Johannesburg-based painter and printmaker known for his satirical and simplified figures. A firm critic of the apartheid regime, Hodgins earned a reputation for his indulgence in satirical social commentary, having long employed painting as a site for the mockery of self-important figures.Hodgins was also carefully concerned with the formal elements of colour, form and composition, taking inspiration from the Colour Field painters such as Mark Rothko.
Robert Hodgins (b. 1920 is regarded as one of South Africa’s most important artists. He attended Goldsmiths College, London where he studied art and education where he received an arts and crafts certificate in 1951 and a National Diploma of Design in painting in 1953. Thereafter, Hodgins returned to South Africa and started teaching at the school of Art at Pretoria Technical College. Upon leaving in 1962, he took up a position as Journalist and Critic for Newscheck magazine.
Hodgins was a senior figure in South African painting and his vast knowledge of literature and art has benefited many of his students during his 17 years (1966 to 1983) as a senior lecturer in painting at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. He retired in 1983 to paint full time. Upon the celebration of his 80th birthday in 2000 Hodgins presented a major exhibition to mark the occasion which turned out to be a sell-out show. Hodgins passed away at the age of 89 from lung cancer, in March 2010.
Hodgins was best known for his use of simplified figures to sardonically depict people as self-concerned, lacking conscience and infinitely unaware of their own fallibility. Some of Hodgins’ paintings convey a feeling of deep seriousness and sadness; the paintings depict a sense of confusion that many people experience. However Hodgins believed that being an artist is about creating something new, an artist perfects the art of ingeniously reinventing content within society.
He also experimented with printmaking, using the medium to express satire, illustrated in his collaborations with major South African artists such as Deborah Bell and William Kentridge. Their association began with 'Hogarth in Johannesburg', followed by the 'Little Morals Series', 'Easing the Passing (of the Hours)' and 'Ubu 101', culminating in an exhibition at the Johannesburg Art Gallery marking their 10 year working relationship. Hodgins has been included in major group exhibitions in South Africa and abroad and is featured in prominent private and public collections.
