Tom Hodgson's first period of abstraction between 1947 and 1964 was one of his most transformative periods. Growing tired of the rigour and restrictions of formalism and figural works, the artist rejected realism in favour of abstraction. Often photographing still lifes and objects in his immediate vicinity, Hodgson would later use the photographs as reference, distorting, abstracting and rotating the objects in the final execution. Bold colours and an emphasis on thick black outlines typify this period of abstraction for the artist and also reference international trends by artists like Picasso, Miro and Kandinsky.
