You, 1997 (detail). Silk flowers and thread. 216 x 192 inches (548.64 x 487.68 cm).

Every Touch, 1995. Silk flowers and thread. 192 x 192 inches (487.68 x 487.68 cm). Collection of Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Jim Hodges

Introduced to the FWM in 1994 by his friend and colleague Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Hodges completed Every Touch in 1995. This piece marks the first in his now wellknown series of large, sculptural floral veils. The creative process involved selecting silk flowers, which were then deconstructed, ironed flat, and pinned to paper backing before being stitched together at the edge, where one petal touched the next. After the backing was removed, a lace-like cascade of petals and leaves remained, fragile yet power fully seductive in its simplicity and beauty.

The bright and multi-colored Every Touch is a meditation on the many lives that brought the sculpture into being. Its title suggests the artist’s acknowledgment of the numerous people who literally touched this piece during the course of its making—from the workers who fabricated the flowers, to the artist and his collaborative team of staff and students at The Fabric Workshop and Museum who made the richly-textured finished cloth through their careful handwork.

Hodge’s returned to the FWM in 1997 to create a second piece, entitled You. It differs from Every Touch in its striking, monochromatic color scheme—it is nearly all white with just a few splashes of color—and its conceptual intention. While Every Touch references the makers, You is made for everyone who views this piece.

Bio

American, born 1957, lives in New York City

Jim Hodges was born and raised in Spokane, Washington, where he also completed an undergraduate degree (BFA, Fort Wright College, 1980) before going on to earn an MFA from the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York (1986). Hodges was trained as a painter, but soon after graduating from school, he began experimenting with ordinary materials (stemming partly from his lack of money at the time), such as paper clips, tarpaper, and dirt, believing that “the materials of art are all around us.” He has become known for his sculptural work, sometimes monumental in scale, made from silver chain, broken mirrors or flower petals—ephemeral materials that offer symbolic associations in addition to their aesthetic attributes. Hodges’ work has been exhibited widely throughout the United States and internationally, including solo exhibitions at the Miami Art Museum (1999), the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago (1999), the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston (1999), and SITE Santa Fe (1997).