- 495
JIM HODGES | Untitled
Estimate
300,000 - 400,000 USD
bidding is closed
Description
- Jim Hodges
- Untitled
- silk with white brass chain
- 44 by 17 in. 111.8 by 43.2 cm.
- Executed in 1994.
Provenance
Gift of the artist to the present owner in 1994
Condition
This work is in very good condition overall. There is evidence of wear and handling, with associated rips and fraying throughout, inherent to the artist's chosen medium and working method. There is evidence of time staining and yellowing to the silk, again inherent with age. The silk garment is fragile and should be handled with care. The work is accompanied by installation instructions; please contact the Contemporary Art Department at 212-606-7000 with any questions.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
Catalogue Note
"Enticement and trapping, reflection and adornment, community and isolation: all of these are elements in Hodges’ emotional alchemy…Hodges dramatizes the poignant moments in which our hopes and desires lead us to the ambiguous embrace of the tenderest traps.” Nayland Blake in Exh. Cat., New York, CRG Gallery, 1991, 1992: Jim Hodges, 2007, p. 33
In Jim Hodges’ exquisite Untitled from 1994, the artist has interlaced a delicate web of brass chains within a diaphanous silk scarf. Hodges stages a conceptual collision between the fragility of the scarf and the strength of the machine-made metallic media woven within it. Together, the gossamer scarf and shimmering web allude to the delicacy and interdependence of human relationships—appreciating their beauty while also acknowledging our own vulnerability within their grasp.
Like his friend and peer Félix González-Torres, Hodges’ work explores the warmth of humanity juxtaposed against the loneliness of isolation. Both artists came of age in the early 1990s, when New York’s creative community was dealing with the devastation of the AIDS crisis. Hodges typically works in domestic, unconventional materials, from paper napkins to glass, and his meticulous, labor-intensive process imbues his installations with a visual poetry attuned to the undeniable temporality of craft. In the present work, the brilliantly vivid veil—transparent, almost-liquid—invites enchantment and tactile curiosity. The intricacy speaks to Hodges' celebration of interrelations and connections, working with the incidental to express something universal. As Hodges explained in 1998, his works "attempt to talk about the bigness of things, the wonder and the greatness of all life" (the artist quoted in Dana Self, Jim Hodges: Welcome, Kansas City 1998, n.p.).
This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity signed and dated 6/4/15 by the artist.
In Jim Hodges’ exquisite Untitled from 1994, the artist has interlaced a delicate web of brass chains within a diaphanous silk scarf. Hodges stages a conceptual collision between the fragility of the scarf and the strength of the machine-made metallic media woven within it. Together, the gossamer scarf and shimmering web allude to the delicacy and interdependence of human relationships—appreciating their beauty while also acknowledging our own vulnerability within their grasp.
Like his friend and peer Félix González-Torres, Hodges’ work explores the warmth of humanity juxtaposed against the loneliness of isolation. Both artists came of age in the early 1990s, when New York’s creative community was dealing with the devastation of the AIDS crisis. Hodges typically works in domestic, unconventional materials, from paper napkins to glass, and his meticulous, labor-intensive process imbues his installations with a visual poetry attuned to the undeniable temporality of craft. In the present work, the brilliantly vivid veil—transparent, almost-liquid—invites enchantment and tactile curiosity. The intricacy speaks to Hodges' celebration of interrelations and connections, working with the incidental to express something universal. As Hodges explained in 1998, his works "attempt to talk about the bigness of things, the wonder and the greatness of all life" (the artist quoted in Dana Self, Jim Hodges: Welcome, Kansas City 1998, n.p.).
This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity signed and dated 6/4/15 by the artist.