BY JENNIFER KOHLHEPP
Staff Writer

JENNIFER KOHLHEPP Dan Hodgkinson of Hamilton Township will showcase his artwork at the Eleanor Gallery in Roosevelt, starting this weekend. ROOSEVELT - The landscape of the mind constantly undergoes transformation and no local artist has explored those brain shifts more than Dan Hodgkinson.

At the age of 23, Hodgkinson, now 29, suffered injuries including frontal lobe damage to his brain after a near-fatal car accident. Since then, he has battled memory loss and having to relearn many everyday tasks such as walking, talking and counting.

Instead of denying or succumbing to his frustrations, Hodgkinson plunged his efforts into painting them.

Painting always came naturally to Hodgkinson, who had been exposed to it through his family. His mother was a stained- glass artist and his father was also a painter.

Hodgkinson's father worked on nonobjective art. Although Hodgkinson's work is now nonobjective, it wasn't always.

Prior to the accident, Hodgkinson painted still life, portraits, landscapes, but afterward, suffering from double vision, he could not draw a straight line.

Rather than allowing his new perspective to inhibit him, Hodgkinson harnessed it and started working on nonobjective art like his father.

A painting titled "Trying to Remember Before the Crash," is one example of his transition into a painter of the more elusive subjects of the mind.

"Every painting is a learning process," Hodgkinson said.

When describing his work, Hodgkinson said he enjoys moving from light to dark in thickness of lines, colors, shapes and subjects.

Although he has taken inspiration from artists such as Paul Gauguin and Paul Czanne, Hodgkinson said he finds that his paintings most resemble those of painter Chaim Soutine.

"I paint like him, but I use brighter colors," Hodgkinson said.

Hodgkinson didn't always focus on color in his work. In fact, after his life-altering experience, his work slowly transformed from black-and-white montages into imagery using just the primary colors.

Now, Hodgkinson has maneuvered into a period in his painting where he explores the more complicated hues.

He said, "Color is where I like to be, where I like to live."

Painting has always been a cathartic endeavor for Hodgkinson.

Remembering something he read once, Hodgkinson said, "If I don't paint, the paint cries. If I don't paint, I cry."

Although he drew when he was young, he didn't start painting until the age of 21.

"I had to find something to keep me interested in life," Hodgkinson said. "After my dad unexpectedly died, I started painting the next day."

Jim Hayden, owner of the Eleanor Art Gallery in Roosevelt, said, "His is a story of the triumph of the spirit," referring to Hodgkinson.

Hayden said his relationship with Hodgkinson has been one of a mutual learning experience.

Hayden first took notice of Hodgkinson's art when he saw a write-up on the artist in a local newspaper. The two crossed paths when Hodgkinson went to Roosevelt looking for a home. He knocked on one of the doors and Hayden answered.

During the chance meeting, Hayden told Hodgkinson of his dream of opening an art gallery in the borough. He promised Hodgkinson that he would feature Hodgkinson's work in the gallery once it opened.

Having grown up "right around the corner from Roosevelt," Hodgkinson said he developed a great fondness for the small town and the styles of architecture there.

"I fell in love with the houses in this area," Hodgkinson said. "The Bauhaus movement has had quite an influence on my work."

Sharing a passion for Roosevelt and the arts, Hayden believes Hodgkinson is the perfect person to take on the role of the first outsider artist he features in his new gallery.

"This young man's story is what makes his art unique," Hayden said. "His art is fine in its own right, but how he got to his recent works is a journey no one person should have to travel for their talent."

Some of the paintings featured in the upcoming show are titled "Please Stop, You're Killing Me," "Ego," and "My Human Face Blew Off in the Wind as I Rode Away on My Horse Sam."

Hodgkinson will be on hand to discuss his art during the opening reception for his show at the Eleanor Gallery from noon to 5 p.m. on April 22 and 23.

The show will continue on Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. through May 13.

Hodgkinson has previously shown his work at several shows at Mercer County College (MCC). He studied under Mel Leipzig, a well known area artist and faculty member at MCC. Hodgkinson has sold his paintings to private benefactors and has had them displayed at Bristol-Myers Squibbs gallery in Princeton.

For more information about Hodgkinson's exhibit at the Eleanor gallery, call (609) 918-1233.