Sparks
Chris Hood
NOVO
Eduardo Secci
Florence, from May 8 to July 31, 2021 (extended)
Opening: Saturday, May 8, at 4:00 pm
Exhibition view, Sparks, Chris Hood, NOVO - Eduardo Secci Firenze, Florence, 2021, Photo Stefano Maniero, Courtesy the artist and NOVO - Eduardo Secci
In Florence, from May 8 to July 31, 2021, Eduardo Secci's project space NOVO presents the first solo show of Chris Hood at the gallery. The exhibition “Sparks” brings together a new series of works by the American artist.
“The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled.” (Plutarch, 1st century AD)
This simple, yet constitutive, idea that our brain needs a stimulus to trigger a reflection rather than the passive act of internalizing a preconceive thought, seems the guiding principle of Sparks. Indeed, ignition is the protagonist of Chris Hood series both figuratively and conceptually. On the one hand, the spark theme vividly comes out from Hood’s apparently flat surfaces, transforming the canvas into a window. However, when one observes more carefully the compositional scheme of Spark series, the different elements portrayed arise within their enigmatic blend revealing Hood’s unique process of painting from reverse while using multiple layers of paint.
Flames, fire and the Promethean attempt to capture them are juxtaposed to American counterculture and mass media, drawing attention to the innate human desires. The perceptual tension and the intentional ambiguity are exactly what ignites the mind of who Is posed in front of the work. Among the works exhibited the spark theme is declined every time in a unique and different way. In some cases, it is the brightness of colors that suggests excitement, in others, the deeper palette makes the canvas more buoyant while revealing a potential for distraction. In other works, it is the natural element that becomes subsumed by the surface of the painting. To remain constants is the interplay between abstraction and figuration, a feature that challenges our perception while questioning our understanding of images and the role of painting in our contemporary world.
“I have a preference for clichés and truisms. They can be fluid in their ability to describe something profoundly real and simultaneously be without meaning in their obviousness. In my work, I exploit the tension between disparate clichés and archetypes complicated by a tension between digital and physical space. […] Through veils of color, mark-making and imagery I explore eternal themes bound in the dawn of a new millennium.”, Hood explained.
Chris Hood, born in 1984 in Atlanta, lives and works in Los Angeles.
Though being representational, the paintings, sculptures, and drawings by the American artist reflect an understanding of the abstract nature in which personal and social imagery collide in the twenty-first century. Combining traditional techniques with the languages of digital territories, his work often features images culled from American counter-culture, art history and mass media rendered abstract by translation. Drawing parallels to his interests in psychophysics, the paintings are cast in a liminal space with a unique reverse-stain technique that rests his compositions in ambiguous and perceptual tension. Likening them to faded advertisements or t-shirts turned inside out, Hood invests the evocative physicality of his paintings with themes of identity, memory and loss. The resulting works hint at challenges with the idea of static perspective while pointing to larger questions concerning the role of images and contemporary painting.
Among his last exhibitions, we remind: Known Unknowns, Saatchi Gallery, London (2018); Novel Gazers, Lyles & King, New York (2017); Fort Greene, curated by Adrianne Rubenstein, Venus Over Los Angeles, Los Angeles (2016); Chris Hood & Zach Reini, curated by Domenico de Chirico, Brand New Gallery, Milan (2016).
Exhibition view, Sparks, Chris Hood, NOVO - Eduardo Secci Firenze, Florence, 2021, Photo Stefano Maniero, Courtesy the artist and NOVO - Eduardo Secci
NOVO is the project space of Eduardo Secci focused on artistic experimentation and contemporary media, apart from the main gallery. It was born out in 2021 of the necessity for a dialogue between art and the languages of new contemporary. NOVO functions as an incubator of ideas encouraging the work of young artists and their future developments.
Eduardo Secci is an Italian gallery founded in 2013 in Florence with a second location in Milan from June 2021. Both spaces present a double program featuring the exhibitions of the main gallery and experimental works by young artists at the project space NOVO.
Exhibition view, Sparks, Chris Hood, NOVO - Eduardo Secci Firenze, Florence, 2021, Photo Stefano Maniero, Courtesy the artist and NOVO - Eduardo Secci
Chris Hood, A New Landscape, 2021, alkyd on canvas, 167.6 x 198.1 cm (66 x 78 in), Photo Stefano Maniero, Courtesy the artist and NOVO - Eduardo Secci Firenze
Chris Hood, Digging III, 2021, alkyd on canvas, 182.9 x 147.3 cm (72 x 58 in), Photo Stefano Maniero, Courtesy the artist and NOVO - Eduardo Secci Firenze
Chris Hood, Split Smoke, 2021, resina alchidica su tela, 157,5 x 127 cm, Foto Stefano Maniero, Courtesy l’artista e NOVO - Eduardo Secci Firenze
Chris Hood, Soft Flame, 2021, resina alchidica su tela, 127 x 101,6 cm, Foto Stefano Maniero, Courtesy l’artista e NOVO - Eduardo Secci Firenze
NOVO Firenze
Sparks - Chris Hood
From May 8 to July 31, 2021 (extended)
Eduardo Secci Firenze
Titina Maselli
Curated by Alberto Fiz
From May 8 to July 31, 2021
Openings: Saturday, May 8, at 4:00 pm
Piazza Goldoni 2, Florence, Italy
Hours: Monday - Saturday, 10:00 am - 1:30 pm / 2:30 - 7:00 pm ; Saturday in July by appointment
+39 055 661356 / firenze@eduardosecci.com
NOVO Milano
Radicalization Pipeline - Theo Triantafyllidis
Eduardo Secci Milano
From June 3 to September 25, 2021
Kevin Francis Gray
Curated by Sergio Risaliti
From June 3 to September 25, 2021
New location Opening: Thursday, June 3, 11:00 am - 9:00 pm
Via Zenale 3, Milan, Italy
Hours: Tuesday - Saturday, 10:00 am - 1:30 pm / 2:30 - 7:00 pm ; Saturday in July by appointment
+39 02 38248728 / milano@eduardosecci.com
www.novo.ooo / hello@novo.ooo
Instagram: @novo_projects / Facebook: @NOVOprojects
www.eduardosecci.com / gallery@eduardosecci.com
Instagram / Facebook: @eduardoseccicontemporary
Press Office
THE KNACK STUDIO / Tamara Lorenzi
tamara@theknackstudio.com / +39 347 0712934
info@theknackstudio.com / www.theknackstudio.com
Sparks
Chris Hood
NOVO
Eduardo Secci
Florence, from May 8 to July 31, 2021 (extended)
Opening: Saturday, May 8, at 4:00 pm
Exhibition view, Sparks, Chris Hood, NOVO - Eduardo Secci Firenze, Florence, 2021, Photo Stefano Maniero, Courtesy the artist and NOVO - Eduardo Secci
In Florence, from May 8 to July 31, 2021, Eduardo Secci's project space NOVO presents the first solo show of Chris Hood at the gallery. The exhibition “Sparks” brings together a new series of works by the American artist.
“The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled.” (Plutarch, 1st century AD)
This simple, yet constitutive, idea that our brain needs a stimulus to trigger a reflection rather than the passive act of internalizing a preconceive thought, seems the guiding principle of Sparks. Indeed, ignition is the protagonist of Chris Hood series both figuratively and conceptually. On the one hand, the spark theme vividly comes out from Hood’s apparently flat surfaces, transforming the canvas into a window. However, when one observes more carefully the compositional scheme of Spark series, the different elements portrayed arise within their enigmatic blend revealing Hood’s unique process of painting from reverse while using multiple layers of paint.
Flames, fire and the Promethean attempt to capture them are juxtaposed to American counterculture and mass media, drawing attention to the innate human desires. The perceptual tension and the intentional ambiguity are exactly what ignites the mind of who Is posed in front of the work. Among the works exhibited the spark theme is declined every time in a unique and different way. In some cases, it is the brightness of colors that suggests excitement, in others, the deeper palette makes the canvas more buoyant while revealing a potential for distraction. In other works, it is the natural element that becomes subsumed by the surface of the painting. To remain constants is the interplay between abstraction and figuration, a feature that challenges our perception while questioning our understanding of images and the role of painting in our contemporary world.
“I have a preference for clichés and truisms. They can be fluid in their ability to describe something profoundly real and simultaneously be without meaning in their obviousness. In my work, I exploit the tension between disparate clichés and archetypes complicated by a tension between digital and physical space. […] Through veils of color, mark-making and imagery I explore eternal themes bound in the dawn of a new millennium.”, Hood explained.
Chris Hood, born in 1984 in Atlanta, lives and works in Los Angeles.
Though being representational, the paintings, sculptures, and drawings by the American artist reflect an understanding of the abstract nature in which personal and social imagery collide in the twenty-first century. Combining traditional techniques with the languages of digital territories, his work often features images culled from American counter-culture, art history and mass media rendered abstract by translation. Drawing parallels to his interests in psychophysics, the paintings are cast in a liminal space with a unique reverse-stain technique that rests his compositions in ambiguous and perceptual tension. Likening them to faded advertisements or t-shirts turned inside out, Hood invests the evocative physicality of his paintings with themes of identity, memory and loss. The resulting works hint at challenges with the idea of static perspective while pointing to larger questions concerning the role of images and contemporary painting.
Among his last exhibitions, we remind: Known Unknowns, Saatchi Gallery, London (2018); Novel Gazers, Lyles & King, New York (2017); Fort Greene, curated by Adrianne Rubenstein, Venus Over Los Angeles, Los Angeles (2016); Chris Hood & Zach Reini, curated by Domenico de Chirico, Brand New Gallery, Milan (2016).
Exhibition view, Sparks, Chris Hood, NOVO - Eduardo Secci Firenze, Florence, 2021, Photo Stefano Maniero, Courtesy the artist and NOVO - Eduardo Secci
NOVO is the project space of Eduardo Secci focused on artistic experimentation and contemporary media, apart from the main gallery. It was born out in 2021 of the necessity for a dialogue between art and the languages of new contemporary. NOVO functions as an incubator of ideas encouraging the work of young artists and their future developments.
Eduardo Secci is an Italian gallery founded in 2013 in Florence with a second location in Milan from June 2021. Both spaces present a double program featuring the exhibitions of the main gallery and experimental works by young artists at the project space NOVO.
Exhibition view, Sparks, Chris Hood, NOVO - Eduardo Secci Firenze, Florence, 2021, Photo Stefano Maniero, Courtesy the artist and NOVO - Eduardo Secci
Chris Hood, A New Landscape, 2021, alkyd on canvas, 167.6 x 198.1 cm (66 x 78 in), Photo Stefano Maniero, Courtesy the artist and NOVO - Eduardo Secci Firenze
Chris Hood, Digging III, 2021, alkyd on canvas, 182.9 x 147.3 cm (72 x 58 in), Photo Stefano Maniero, Courtesy the artist and NOVO - Eduardo Secci Firenze
Chris Hood, Split Smoke, 2021, resina alchidica su tela, 157,5 x 127 cm, Foto Stefano Maniero, Courtesy l’artista e NOVO - Eduardo Secci Firenze
Chris Hood, Soft Flame, 2021, resina alchidica su tela, 127 x 101,6 cm, Foto Stefano Maniero, Courtesy l’artista e NOVO - Eduardo Secci Firenze
NOVO Firenze
Sparks - Chris Hood
From May 8 to July 31, 2021 (extended)
Eduardo Secci Firenze
Titina Maselli
Curated by Alberto Fiz
From May 8 to July 31, 2021
Openings: Saturday, May 8, at 4:00 pm
Piazza Goldoni 2, Florence, Italy
Hours: Monday - Saturday, 10:00 am - 1:30 pm / 2:30 - 7:00 pm ; Saturday in July by appointment
+39 055 661356 / firenze@eduardosecci.com
NOVO Milano
Radicalization Pipeline - Theo Triantafyllidis
Eduardo Secci Milano
From June 3 to September 25, 2021
Kevin Francis Gray
Curated by Sergio Risaliti
From June 3 to September 25, 2021
New location Opening: Thursday, June 3, 11:00 am - 9:00 pm
Via Zenale 3, Milan, Italy
Hours: Tuesday - Saturday, 10:00 am - 1:30 pm / 2:30 - 7:00 pm ; Saturday in July by appointment
+39 02 38248728 / milano@eduardosecci.com
www.novo.ooo / hello@novo.ooo
Instagram: @novo_projects / Facebook: @NOVOprojects
www.eduardosecci.com / gallery@eduardosecci.com
Instagram / Facebook: @eduardoseccicontemporary
Press Office
THE KNACK STUDIO / Tamara Lorenzi
tamara@theknackstudio.com / +39 347 0712934
info@theknackstudio.com / www.theknackstudio.com
