Reggie Burrows Hodges: Mela

African-American painter Reggie Burrows Hodges (b. 1965, Compton, California) pursues a strong visual narrative in his works, which explore questions of identity, community and memory.

Published on the occasion of his solo exhibition at MICAS, Mela features recent paintings which illustrate Hodges' singular technique of employing a black ground across his canvases and then developing the scene around his figures with painterly, loose brushwork. This technique deliberately plays with perceptions by reducing the focus on the human figure, essentially formed by the negative space within the composition; a practice that accentuates the environment where the figures are situated rather than the figures themselves.

As he notes, "I start with a black ground [as a way] of dealing with blackness' totality. I'm painting an environment in which the figures emerge from negative space… if you see my paintings in person, you'll look at the depth."

Hodges' early study of performance and film brings a sense of dramatic staging to his compositions, which, coupled with a softness in the application of paint, ensures a subtlety of approach in addressing the challenging universal themes of existence which he explores.