Why is Two’s Company so important?

Two’s Company is a series of works on paper made by British painter and printmaker Sir Howard Hodgkin and comprises two etchings depicting abstract landscapes. With a production that spanned over five decades, Hodgkin has become one of the most well-renowned and acclaimed artists to emerge from the British post war era. His art, most often associated with abstraction, weaves together painting and printmaking, oftentimes mixing the two in the same work. Hodgkin’s prints, in particular, have earned a special place in the art historical tradition of printmaking through their appeal to a bright palette of colours and their painterly and tactile quality, which is well evident in this series of works. In their direct and expressionistic rendition, these works perfectly attest to Hodgkin’s distinctive printmaking style and constitute a legacy of the artist’s life-long dedication to the medium.

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How can I sell my Two's Company print?

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Two's Company by Howard Hodgkin Background & Meaning

Sir Howard Hodgkin was one of the leading figures of British art to dominate the PostWar period. His production spanned over five decades and included paintings as well as printmaking. Perhaps more recognisably and vocally than any artist at the time did Hodgkin espouse printmaking as a practice to be developed in tandem with his paintings. In Hodgkin’s art, painting and printmaking come together through highly gestural, expressionist and manneristic works that carry within themselves the texture and force of paint brush strokes. Two’s Company, made by the artist between 2002 and 2003, is a series of works where Hodgkin’s distinctive printmaking technique best comes to life.

The series includes two works made from the same set of two copper plates and one plastic plate - Two’s Company (A) and Two’s Company (B). Upon printing the colours onto the sheets of paper, the artist added hand coloured cobalt blue, bone black and cyan acrylic. In Two’s Company (A), the deep blue and black hues predominate, giving the artwork a more sombre look reminiscent of underwater flora. In Two’s Company (B) the artist resorted to a broader mix of colours, using red, yellow and cobalt blue for a more bright and energetic effect. In both works, Hodgkin’s mannerist brushstroke is evident, and endows the works with a liveliness and movement, attesting to the artist’s investment in the printmaking process.

This haptic and tactile quality, instantly reminiscent of paint pastes applied on fresh canvases, was achieved by the artist through recourse to carborundum, which allows to add texture and relief to the image, mimicking the effect of paint. Hodgkin’s prints are easily distinguishable because of his repeated appeal to this technique, to which he was introduced by Jack Shirreff. Working together at 107 Workshop, Shirreff and Hodgkin created most of the artist’s prints, joined by their mutual interest in the use of colour in print, which at the time was widely underused in printmaking. The colourful and painterly quality evident within this series sets Hodgkin’s prints apart from any coeval production.

Two’s Company is a series of works on paper made by British painter and printmaker Sir Howard Hodgkin and comprises two etchings depicting abstract landscapes. With a production that spanned over five decades, Hodgkin has become one of the most well-renowned and acclaimed artists to emerge from the British post war era. His art, most often associated with abstraction, weaves together painting and printmaking, oftentimes mixing the two in the same work. Hodgkin’s prints, in particular, have earned a special place in the art historical tradition of printmaking through their appeal to a bright palette of colours and their painterly and tactile quality, which is well evident in this series of works. In their direct and expressionistic rendition, these works perfectly attest to Hodgkin’s distinctive printmaking style and constitute a legacy of the artist’s life-long dedication to the medium.
If you're looking to sell art by Howard Hodgkin, click the link and we can help. We employ a number of techniques and practices in order to give a realistic and achievable valuation on any art listed on myartbroker.com. We analyse the demand for the work in question, take into consideration previous sales and auction valuations, we assess the current gallery valuation and monitor the current deals taking place via MyArtBroker every day. We regularly advise sellers on a price bracket for their artwork completely free of charge.