PAST PRESENT & FUTURE
With a nod to “sampling culture” and Rauschenberg’s principle of working in “the gap between art and life”, Hodge’s collage based works pair urban detritus and found objects with cut-out images, lyrics, and other signifiers of the African-American experience, forming a duality of meaning wherein fragments of everyday urban life become conduits of artistic expression. Cut, sewn, scorched, and painted,
Hodge collapses the space between his reclaimed materials and the traditions he invokes, suggesting alternative pathways through the self-described “layer cake” of African American history.
DNA: DAVID SHELTON GALLERY
Robert Hodge's latest body of work, titled DNA, is a showcase of the history and culture of African American history that is intertwined into the fabric of this country’s DNA. And while African American contributions to the culture are not the complete story of America, they are an undeniable foundation upon which this country was built. Based on extensive research Hodge’s work will help to bring forth the rich African American culture and history that is often hidden in the American story. DNA pulls from the story of Henrietta Lacks who was a black tobacco farmer from southern Virginia who got cervical cancer when she was 30. A doctor at Johns Hopkins took a piece of her tumor without telling her and sent it down the hall to scientists who had been trying to grow tissues in culture for decades without success. No one knows why, but her cells never died. The work examines Lacks, as well as other key figures from the civil rights era, pop culture, music, and Hodge’s personal life and how those people help shape the current art, music, the fashion world, as well as the artist himself.
Friendly Fire: The Audio Experience
In 2016, Station Museum presented Friendly Fire in association with Houston Sculpture Month 2016, a citywide sculptural survey of artists living and working in the Houston area. Hodge’s concept idea was to “make a body of work around the police and how the black civilian is handled without care and with military precision.” Supporters are now able to enjoy the music behind the exhibition when they purchase The Audio Experience, curated and executive produced by Robert Hodge. Friendly Fire is a genre-bending, non-traditional project that celebrates the artists associated with the original exhibition, highlighting that many visual artists are also musical artists.
“friendly fire” vinyl artwork by Kaneem Smith
Friendly Fire: The Audio Experience
Station Museum of Contemporary Art in collaboration with notable Houston artist, Robert Hodge presents a special production of Friendly Fire, a 2016 exhibition repurposed into an exclusive limited edition vinyl record to be released on Record Store Day, October 24, 2020.
In 2016, Station Museum presented Friendly Fire in association with Houston Sculpture Month 2016, a citywide sculptural survey of artists living and working in the Houston area. The exhibition title is derived from the military term for an attack on friendly troops while attempting to attack the enemy. Hodge’s concept idea was to “make a body of work around the police and how the black civilian is handled without care and with military precision.”
Collect It For The Culture III
Black Buddha Creative Agency is excited to announce Collect It For The Culture III curated by Robert Hodge is coming to downtown Houston, Texas December 2020. The series was originated in 2017 as a way for collectors to identify highly collectible artists at all stages of their careers.
This is the third-annual exhibition featuring Texas-based artists, hand selected for their relevance to the art landscape. In 2020, this collaborative series will continue to present a dynamic curation of works that give collectors at different stages opportunities to acquire beautiful, engaging art that will withstand the test of time. The mission of the series is to highlight the role collectors have in the perpetuation of culture through their ongoing support of the arts.