Venice, Night 1995

Curator: Howard Hodgkin's Venice, Night, held in the Tate Collections, presents us with a fascinating abstraction of the iconic city. Editor: It's immediately striking. The density of the blacks and grays, applied so heavily, it feels almost oppressive, like the weight of the city itself. Curator: Hodgkin often explored memory and emotion through his work, rather than literal representation. How do you think that translates here, given the title? Editor: Well, considering the materiality, look at the layered application, the way it's built up. It's less about seeing Venice, and more about the feeling of Venice—its history, its canals, its sometimes-suffocating atmosphere. Curator: Indeed. And the scale, almost mural-like, suggests a public experience, which aligns with Venice's role as a stage for both personal and collective dramas. Editor: It also shows the power of abstraction to convey a sense of place that a photorealistic painting simply couldn’t. Curator: Absolutely. Hodgkin manages to evoke the essence of Venice. Editor: Agreed, a perfect example of materiality informing the emotional and historical context.