I am captivated by people who change the world, and the global fabric of society that stretches us as individuals. I view the major cities of the world as nerve centres of energy, and my work is a jumping off point to explore this vortex of people, ideas, places, and experiences.

Three forces act on me as an artist -- the work of other artists, my experiences exploring the world, and my day-to-day life working and studying with people of immense ambition and talent. Artistically, I admire a range of artists from Renoir to Rothko and Matisse to Hirst, but my current work is influenced directly by Rachel Whiteread, Marie Helena Vieira da Silva, and Francis Bacon. Whiteread’s 2005 Tate Modern installation has inspired me to step off the canvas for the first time this summer with installations, my new works “Crackberries” and “Play Hard”. Similarly, I admired Da Silva and Bacon’s vibrant brushstrokes and texture at the Sotheby’s and Christie’s Contemporary Art sales (February 2006). I applied some of these techniques in my most recent works including “Lost in Translation,” and “Into Blue” which bring motion to the canvas through a more aggressive interplay of colour.

My time living on four continents and my passion for travel has given me a rich body of vignettes from which to draw. At play, I live a life of experience on experience. I have walked alone in the deserts of India, and rushed with thousands through Shinjuku Station. My eyes have watered from funeral pyres in Nepal, and I have sung Xhosa folk songs with African students. While at work, I now serve the needs of some of the most demanding, premium customers in the world.

Yet through all, I am a painter. And when I paint, I aim to inspire.

I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Gail Hodges

gail@gailhodges.net