Overview

This October, Pitzhanger Manor & Gallery unveils Howard Hodgkin: In a Public Garden — the largest institutional exhibition of original prints by the acclaimed British artist to date. Curated by renowned art historian Richard Calvocoressi, this landmark show features around 46 vibrant, emotionally charged prints that span five decades of Hodgkin’s career, from 1966 to 2016. As well as the prints, the exhibition features five paintings and a collection of archive items related to Hodgkin’s relationship with India – including photographs, works on paper, and 17th century Mughal pottery tiles.

Installed throughout Pitzhanger’s contemporary gallery and the atmospheric rooms of the historic Manor itself, this retrospective-in-print immerses visitors in Hodgkin’s world of colour, memory, and abstraction. His bold, gestural works — full of nuance and feeling — transform the building into a living canvas of moments remembered and reimagined.

As curator Richard Calvocoressi notes, “In the case of Howard Hodgkin, the term ‘prints’ is perhaps misleading. Many of them were hand-coloured by the artist or his collaborators and come close to being one-offs, like paintings; and as such, they make a powerful impact on their environment. Working from memory and imagination, Hodgkin created images of transience, in which ambiguous, dissolving forms are the pictorial equivalent of an autobiographical sensation or perception. I hope visitors will be both moved and exhilarated by this exhibition.”

Highlights include Venetian Views (1995), a rarely united series of lyrical cityscapes, and Swimming (2011), created for the London 2012 Olympics.

This marks the second time Hodgkin’s work has been exhibited at Pitzhanger. He was drawn to the building’s distinctive light and architecture for a 2009 exhibition — before the major restoration and reopening in 2019 — establishing a meaningful connection with the site that continues today.

A setting steeped in art and architecture, Pitzhanger Manor was the country home of visionary architect Sir John Soane, built between 1800 and 1804. Designed as a showcase for his most experimental ideas, the Manor also has a rich artistic legacy – Soane often welcomed leading artists of the day, including frequent guest and kindred spirit J.M.W. Turner.