The Wallace Collection

Our first Associate Artist was the painter Charlotte Hodes, who took much of her inspiration from the patterns in 18th-century paintings and Sèvres porcelain. Charlotte worked with the Wallace Collection from 2004 and an exhibition of her work was shown here from May 2007.

Charlotte Hodes speaking about her Associate Artistship:  

‘The Wallace Collection has been a source of inspiration since my student days at the Slade School. It is a great privilege to be able to work more closely from the Collection to use it as a starting point for a new body of art works. These will take the form of large scale collaged works on paper and a series of thrown ceramic vase forms copiously decorated with coloured slips, hand made transfers and gold.

As Associate Artist, I have been making drawings directly from the collection, manipulating them on the computer alongside digital photographs to build up a visual bank of imagery which serves as a starting point for the art works. I am drawn to the intensity of the ornate rococo Sèvres vases of the 18th century as well as the poetic, melancholic works of the painter Antoine Watteau My work is centred on the female figure, often depicted as a motif, surrounded by pattern, colour, common place objects and computer icons. She is a presence, referencing art history whilst seeking to find a place in the contemporary world. I am interested in the way in which historical references - both from the decorative arts and painting can be used to re- present the image of the female figure. I seek to make images which, as with many of the works in The Wallace Collection, celebrate shamelessly the pleasure of colour and pattern but also address the compelling theme of the female figure, fragile but strongly present.’

Charlotte Hodes was supported for this project by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), the Arts Council of England (ACE) and Camberwell College of Arts, University of the Arts London. Her Associate Artist exhibition ran at the Wallace Collection between 3 May and 23 June 2007.

For more about Charlotte Hodes, please visit www.emmahilleagle.com