Reggie Burrows HodgesThe Buoy: Prickly Pear, 2025

Acrylic and pastel on linen

64½ × 99 in

About the artist

Born and raised in Compton, California, Reggie Burrows Hodges moved as a teenager to New York and Washington, DC. He attended the University of Kansas, where he studied in the theater department, took coursework in African American studies, and played tennis on scholarship. He settled in New York after graduating, and focused on music, founding a reggae band, Trumystic, with which he toured from 1995 to 2010, and co-owning Bass Mind Recording Studio in Brooklyn. In addition, he worked as a professional tennis coach for the United States Tennis Association/International Tennis Federation Pro Circuit. He moved to Vermont in 2000 before settling in Maine in 2008 Hodges begins his works by painting his canvases black before drawing or painting a scene. Often drawing inspiration from his childhood in Compton, he uses ethereal brushwork to underscore that blackness is both the ground and the figure. 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.” His figures lack identifying features, and often appear engaged in activities such as dancing, track and field events, and tennis—recalling Hodges’s background in sports. He cites an array of artistic influences, including David Driskell, Alex Katz, and Milton Avery. Hodges studied theater and film at the University of Kansas. He has completed residencies at the Ellis-Beauregard Foundation (2019); Monson Arts (2019); and Pace House (2019). He is the recipient of awards such as the Jacob Lawrence Award in Art from the American Academy of Arts and Letters (2021). His work first entered the Studio Museum’s collection in 2022.

About the artist

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