Hoppo_The_Chair

HOPPO
'RESONANCE II'
& The Chair
29th October – 19th November 2022

Can I Tell You A Secret? mixed media on linen 40 x 40cm £400

Hold My Hand Tight mixed media on panel 40 x 40cm £400

Nothing Ventured mixed media on panel 80 x 80cm £800

Nothing Gained mixed media on panel 80 x 80cm £800

Glance Over Your Shoulder (The World Looks Different) mixed media on panel 77 x 77cm £800

There Were Five Of Us mixed media on panel 40 x 40cm £400

The Outsider (Not Fitting In, But Your Time Will Come) mixed media on panel 40 x 40cm SOLD

Family Gathering mixed media on panel 40 x 40cm £400

I Don’t Think Anyone Spotted Me mixed media on panel 40 x 40cm SOLD

C.1956. The Club of 56 mixed media on panel 40 x 40cm SOLD

H Impersonating A Ship’s Figurehead During An Argument. I Could Only Laugh
mixed media on panel 76 x 61cm £750

There Are Two Sides To Every Argument mixed media on panel verso 76 x 61cm £750

Lintel (Stonehenge) mixed media on panel 76 x 61cm £750

The Bering Strait No 1 mixed media on panel on panel 64 x 52cm £600

I’m Always Dreaming Of This Moment mixed media on panel 77 x 77cm SOLD

Are You Sure You Want To Find Yourself? mixed media on panel 91 x 91cm SOLD

Matt Hitched A Ride On A Container Ship mixed media on panel 77 x 77cm £800

Beware of Oil Tankers mixed media on panel 92 x 92cm SOLD

Panama 04.00 GMT mixed media on panel 76 x 61cm £750

I Can’t Contain This Any More mixed media on panel 76 x 61cm £750

The English Channel mixed media on panel 76 x 61cm £750

The Gulf mixed media on panel 71 x 59cm £700

This Is Where We Stopped acryclic on panel 122 x 92cm £1400

The Red Sea oil on panel 100 x 100cm £1000

Somewhere, Out There acrylic on panel 65 x 65cm £650

Supplying Europe In A Time Of War acrylic on linen 65 x 65cm £650

Don’t Tell Anyone mixed media on linen 40 x 40cm £400

Your Secret Is Safe With Me mixed media on linen 40 x 40cm SOLD

Pachna Cyprus mixed media on found cook cover 28 x 21cm SOLD

Orkney mixed media on found cook cover 28 x 21cm SOLD

Lundy Menhir mixed media on found cook cover 28 x 21cm £380

Menhir Isle Of Eigg mixed media on found cook cover 28 x 21cm £380

Hoppo aka Charlie Hopkinson
Paintings, especially abstract paintings, by their very nature involve some mystery.
It would be rash for the artist to reveal that mystery in a written explanation –
assuming he was even able to do so.
Francis Bacon: “ The job of the artist is always to deepen the mystery.”
Added to that are the Secret paintings that reinforce this mysterious element.
They can be witheringly personal too – Are You Sure You Want to Find Yourself?
seems to fly in the face of modern ways of thinking.
What happens when we look at paintings? What you see might be different from
what the next viewer sees, and from what the artist sees too:
“We do not see things as they are, we see them as we are,” wrote Anais Nin.
We each bring something to whatever we study, and that’s a vital component of
looking at this exhibition.
Hoppo says, “The link between the viewer and the picture is determined by
whether the image resonates with the onlooker. Does it connect at some level? It
might, and it might not – there is only one way to find out”. An open mind is all
that’s needed. “And curiosity,” he insists.
Are we journeying alongside the artist? Hold my Hand Tight appears to hint that
we might be, and Can I tell you a Secret? seems to incite us to collude with Hoppo’s
train of thought. Are we alone? Or are we co-joined with the artist as we move
through this exhibition?
At first glance, the picture’s title might hold some clues. Container ships are an
example. Two friends of the artist emigrated to Southern Africa, and packed the
entire contents of their home into two containers which were then transported by
sea to Cape Town. Lives are moved across oceans. As Homo sapiens spread from
Africa to throughout the world, the two friends appeared to make the journey in
reverse. Who are we and where do we come from – at this level – seemed to the
artist to be a subject worth scrutiny.
Journeys are a fundamental part of Hoppo’s life. They’ve been the core subject
of previous exhibitions in Hay-on-Wye (Steplines, 2020 at The Table Hay). Aspects
of the artist’s journey which brought him to Wales might also be present here –
Nothing Ventured, and Nothing Gained, for instance; two abstract self portraits of the
painter on his solitary journey.
Looking at abstract art can be challenging, and in equal measure, rewarding. “
When people say my five year old could paint that, I’m thrilled. If only we could
keep a five year old’s sense of curiosity with us throughout our lives; life and
art would be more joyous, more fun, more rewarding. I hope that this work can
rekindle that curiosity and resonate with viewers – at any level.”

Your Secret Is Safe With Me (detail) mixed media on linen 40 x 40cm SOLD
To purchase work please contact Val Harris at art@thetablehay.com or 07956 452195
The gallery offers Collectorplan, an initiative administered by the Welsh Assembly,
enabling you to purchase work up to the value of £5,000 with an interest free loan repayable over a year.
All measurements are for framed sizes unless marked * where the paintings are unframed.
The gallery is open Thursday - Saturday 10am - 3pm or by appointment during exhibitions.
All paintings are for sale upon receipt of this catalogue.