In the recent works, I have mostly moved away from the more gestural paintings of a couple of years ago and set myself the challenge of making the works tighter, more defined, and more precise and importantly, less complex. The idea is not however to search for some kind of essence. Rather, it is an interest in the image as the presentation of a clear but brief moment of vision – a glimpse, a coup d’oeil, that is meant to be nothing more than a partial insight into something bigger that would always defy description.
– John Hockings (catalogue extract)
Image: John Hockings, Kenroku-en 2024, Acrylic on canvas, 60 x 90 cm
