Frances Hodgkins

Leitmotif: historically, a recurring short melodic phrase used especially in Wagnerian music dramas, to suggest a character, thing etc; an often-repeated image or theme in a literary work

Particular motifs appear repeatedly in the work of Frances Hodgkins (1869-1947). Landscape, still life and portraiture are central to her oeuvre, but she treats each genre as if they are threads in a tapestry, weaving and interweaving them so that still life floats out into landscape just as everyday objects representing her love of pattern, colour and design become markers of self. In other hands, such a practice might have become repetitious, yet the clarity of her vision and her constant desire to push her painting technique in new directions ensured that each work embodies an untiring vivacity and individuality of expression.

While Leitmotif demonstrates the highly personal response made by Hodgkins during the 1930s and 40s to what she termed 'the Modern question', the exhibition also explores the manner in which the artist's drawing and watercolour techniques gradually became absorbed into her use of gouache and oil paint.

An Auckland Art Callery Toi Tāmaki touring exhibition. With the support of lottery Grants Board, Creative New Zealand, Singapore Airlines

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