He had the ability of making me look harder, and the gift of making me search for the hidden.
A paintings title can often escort you on a journey of discovery, however with Hodgkin; titles were often ambiguous and offered little guidance. This introduction through gestural abstraction, taught me that it was not purely by chance that these works were successful, and had appeal. Hodgkin’s work “Memories” walks you through its layered surfaces, and continually pulls you in, eagerly longing to discover where and what the original surface used to be. My inspired work “Recollection” is a play on Hodgkin’s title, and an imparted and grateful acknowledgment, that the partially revealed makes you look that little bit harder." Chris BrookChris Brook RSW - Artist statement
Living in the Scottish Borders, self-taught, working professionally since 1995.
Painting and printmaking works are essentially land scape driven. Never intended as site specific, instead best described as reinvented retreats, a collection of marks and shapes alluding to the kind of place I would like to find. A place which is within reach and offers solitude, comfort, protection, and shelter.
The starting process for making 2D constructional works begins by sifting through an ever-increasing collection of discarded and disregarded materials, both natural and man-made, selected for their individual qualities, whether that be colour, shape, texture or form.
My attempt, through layering and pairing of countless combinations of these objects is to find an affinity, a natural, complimentary harmony of pieces being brought together for the first time, this in turn will dictate the next step.
Being guided by the materials means that there is never a fixed scale in mind, and finished sizes vary from works which I refer to as token pieces, small in scale, and intricate in construction, through to larger works which present a more totemic quality.
