Gradients & Gatherings

Gradients and Gatherings: An Exhibition of New Drawings by Bill Hoppe features four large-scale drawings created especially for the walls of the Liberty Theater.

"Created over the last two years, the new ink drawings in this exhibition are a response to the current times as well as the At Liberty space of my July 2018 exhibition: Paintings and Paper Projects 1970 to 2017.”

-Bill Hoppe

The new drawings reveal the skeletal ink under-painting that begins the process of creating my images. Here the process is halted before the transparent color washes of past work have been applied. All color is pulled aside and used for its symbolic presence. (The green panels in ship of fools approximate the dark and light green inks of the dollar bill.)  The seventeen 96" x 50" panels from the 2018 show have been repurposed as planned and are combined to create the four large central bays of the gallery. Here is a gathering of my responses to these times: bird talk, unwelcome twitter, drawn curtain, unfathomable loss.

The gradients of the gray scale that have been used in my work since the early seventies— Yellow Diptych is an early example—once a microcosm and a technique for creating spatial illusions is larger now. Gradients and mountains stir up my love for this region and gatherings too are central to our regional story.

In this work, the ideas reflect on my studio experience of gathering myself and sharing the forms that process takes. Exploring at the age of 75, as part of a life that has given me the opportunity to be an art worker, an artist and an educator. None of this could have happened without the love and support of others."