Those ... Plants 1980

Curator: Oh, this feels like a memory, slightly faded, warm with amber tones. Editor: Indeed. What we're looking at is Howard Hodgkin's piece, "Those... Plants" housed right here at the Tate. It appears to be some kind of print. Curator: Prints, you know, they allow the artist to really wrestle with a vision. It's not just about the final image, it's about the layers, the labor... it's about capturing the feeling. Editor: Absolutely, and thinking about Hodgkin's process here – the repeated gestures, the layering of color. It challenges the preciousness we often associate with painting. There's a real physicality to it. Curator: A physicality, yes! I feel like I'm standing in a humid greenhouse, with the sun filtering through. Editor: I agree. It is interesting how the image is framed by these bold green strokes; almost a window. Curator: Hodgkin always understood how colors, shape, and even texture could stand for emotions. Editor: And in "Those... Plants" we see how the labor involved in printmaking allows Hodgkin to push the boundaries of how we understand feeling through art. Curator: It's the feeling of remembering, of a place that holds a secret. A beautiful contradiction, don't you think? Editor: Certainly. It gives us pause to consider the labor and craft that breathes life into emotion.