Howard Hodgkin: Indian Waves

This book was published on the occasion of Howard Hodgkin: Indian Waves at Gagosian, Davies Street, London. The exhibition included thirty gouaches painted by Hodgkin between 1990 and 1991. The paintings were inspired by the artist’s experience of India, where he frequently traveled from 1964 on. Executed on handmade Indian khadi paper, each composition began with a foundation of a wavy blue line surmounted by a wavy green line above it. Hodgkin painted over these shapes with vivid hues, creating a sweeping tide of color and gesture.

Published in twelve cover variations reproducing details of the paintings, this intimately scaled book is designed with French-fold signatures and opens with Shakespeare’s Sonnet 60. It features Shanay Jhaveri’s essay “Like as the Waves,” which discusses Hodgkin’s connections to India and his development of this series, and a biography of the artist compiled by Antony Peattie.