Art Review: Jim Hodges at the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Holland Cotter

"When I Believed, What I Believed" (center, and, from left, "Movements (Stage I), "Movements (Stage II)," and "Movements (Variations III)," by Jim Hodges  

MASSACHUSETTS---In the 21st century, we tend to talk about new art in terms of medium and style: Performance is back, painting is back, Pop is back, and so on. But for roughly a decade, from the late 1980s to the late 1990s, the emphasis was on ideas and emotions. Even spirituality, which the New York art world handles with tongs, became an admissible subject. Jim Hodges’s career as an artist began in that in-extremis time. Mr. Hodges was shaped by it and helped shape the art that came out of it. Gay, raised Roman Catholic, living in the AIDS war zone that was New York City, he favored craft-based forms, ephemeral and found materials, and images — flowers, butterflies — traditionally associated with mortality and transience. You’ll find all of this in “Jim Hodges: Give More Than You Take,” a taut career survey at the Institute of Contemporary Art here. [link]

Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston: "Jim Hodges: Give More Than You Take" (Ends September 1, 2014); 100 Northern Avenue, Boston, MA; (617) 478-3100; icaboston.org