Howard Hodgkin Sand (Heenk 70) Signed Hand Colored Lithograph Editon of 50

Artist: Howard Hodgkin
Title: Sand (Heenk 70)
Medium: Hand-Colored Lithograph
Edition: Edition 20/50
Publisher: Petersburg Press, New York
Printer: Petersburg Studios, New York
Sheet Size: 31" x 40"
Year: 1983
Inscription: Initialed, dated, and numbered in pencil
Documentation: Includes Gallery Certificate of Authenticity

Howard Hodgkin's "Sand (Heenk 70)" captures a pivotal moment in the artist's printmaking practice, when color, gesture, and emotion coalesced into a language uniquely his own. The composition centers on a dense rectangular form animated by restless strokes of red and grey that seem to hover within a surrounding field of darker wash. A hand-painted border of deep grey-black encloses the image, functioning as both a boundary and a threshold. Hodgkin often treated the frame not as a constraint but as an active element of the composition—an area where energy gathers and dissipates. In "Sand", this dialogue between structure and freedom mirrors his broader interest in the tension between interiority and expression.

Created during a period when Hodgkin increasingly used abstraction to evoke sensory and emotional memory, "Sand" demonstrates his mastery of transforming personal experience into painterly form. Rather than depicting specific subjects, he conveyed mood and recollection through gestural brushwork and the interplay of saturated color. The work's hand-colored surface enriches its tactile quality, allowing pigment to pool and drift across the printed image, a reminder of the artist's persistent engagement with the physicality of mark-making. The contrast between the lithographic base and the spontaneous watercolor application underscores the dual nature of Hodgkin's art—discipline and spontaneity held in balance.

"Sand (Heenk 70)" is a hand-colored color lithograph published by Petersburg Press, New York, and printed by Petersburg Studios. The sheet measures 31 × 40 inches and is initialed, dated, and numbered 20/50 in pencil. Created from two aluminum plates and finished with watercolor, this edition reveals subtle variations that make each impression distinct. The work is accompanied by a gallery Certificate of Authenticity and remains an important example of Hodgkin's technical and expressive innovation within contemporary printmaking.

About Howard Hodgkin

Howard Hodgkin (1932–2017) was a celebrated British abstract painter and printmaker whose work redefined the expressive possibilities of color, gesture, and memory in modern art. Renowned for his richly textured surfaces and emotionally charged compositions, Hodgkin developed a distinctive painterly language that blurred the line between representation and abstraction. His work stands among the most significant contributions to postwar British art, situating him alongside contemporaries such as Patrick Heron and Gillian Ayres.

Born in London, Hodgkin studied at the Camberwell School of Art and the Bath Academy of Art in Corsham. Early in his career, he drew inspiration from both Western modernism and Indian miniature painting, the latter profoundly influencing his approach to color and spatial composition. By the 1960s, Hodgkin had established his mature style—vibrant, layered works that evoke recollected emotions and fleeting moments rather than literal depictions of scenes. His paintings, often executed on wooden panels and sometimes extending onto their frames, invite the viewer into intimate yet elusive spaces defined by bold brushwork and radiant pigment.

Hodgkin described his paintings as "representational pictures of emotional situations", grounding his abstraction in personal experience and the psychology of memory. Works such as "Rain" (1984–89) and "In the Green Room" (1984–86) exemplify his ability to distill complex feelings into pure visual form. His use of color—saturated, luminous, and intuitively layered—became his primary means of communication, rendering mood and atmosphere with remarkable depth.

Over his six-decade career, Hodgkin received international recognition, representing Britain at the Venice Biennale in 1984 and winning the Turner Prize in 1985. Major retrospectives of his work have been held at the Tate Britain, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Irish Museum of Modern Art, underscoring his enduring influence on both British and international contemporary painting.

Today, Howard Hodgkin's paintings and prints are celebrated for their sensuous use of color and deeply personal approach to abstraction. His work continues to bridge emotion and form, offering a uniquely human dimension to the language of modern art.