Sparks

NOVO is pleased to present Sparks, the first solo exhibition held in Florence by the American artist Chris Hood. The show, featuring Hood’s new series of works, will be inaugurated on May 8 at 4 pm at the Gallery Exhibition spaces in Piazza Carlo Goldoni 2, Florence.

“The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled.” (Plutarch, 1st century AD)

This simple, yet constitutive, idea that our brain needs a stimulus to trigger a reflection rather than the passive act of internalizing a preconceive thought, seems the guiding principle of Sparks. Indeed, ignition is the protagonist of Chris Hood series both figuratively and conceptually. On the one hand, the spark theme vividly comes out from Hood’s apparently flat surfaces, transforming the canvas into a window. However, when one observes more carefully the compositional scheme of Spark series, the different elements portrayed arise within their enigmatic blend revealing Hood’s unique process of painting from reverse while using multiple layers of paint.

Flames, fire and the Promethean attempt to capture them are juxtaposed to American counterculture and mass media, drawing attention to the innate human desires. The perceptual tension and the intentional ambiguity are exactly what ignites the mind of who Is posed in front of the work. Among the works exhibited the spark theme is declined every time in a unique and different way. In some cases, it is the brightness of colours that suggests excitement, in others, the deeper palette makes the canvas more buoyant while revealing a potential for distraction. In other works, it is the natural element that becomes subsumed by the surface of the painting. To remain constants is the interplay between abstraction and figuration, a feature that challenges our perception while questioning our understanding of images and the role of painting in our contemporary world.

“I have a preference for clichés and truisms. They can be fluid in their ability to describe something profoundly real and simultaneously be without meaning in their obviousness. In my work, I exploit the tension between disparate clichés and archetypes complicated by a tension between digital and physical space. […] Through veils of color, mark-making and imagery I explore eternal themes bound in the dawn of a new millennium.”, Hood explained.