Hopkins & Hallam

In 2020, the University of Reading received a generous gift of four paintings from alumna and artist Marilyn Hallam. Hallam (b.1947) studied fine art at the University of Reading where she met and married Clyde Hopkins (1946-2018) (both BA Fine Art 1965, Hallam subsequently graduated with an MFA in 1970). Both artists exhibited widely from the late 1970s and were also active educators. From 1990-2006 Hopkins was Professor of Painting at Chelsea School of Art (UAL) and Hallam was a regular part-time and visiting lecturer on many undergraduate and post graduate Fine Art courses, including at UAL and Reading.

The pieces include a self-portrait by Hallam with Hopkins Keyhole Camera, Stencils II (2017-19) which demonstrates the artist’s unique mixed media approach to building intricate compositions through layers of drawing, tracing, Keyhole Camera in the collection evidence the three main “periods” of Hopkins’ career – through which his style evolved markedly. The painterly expressionism of Grizzled Skipper (1987) forms part of a body of work produced in Hopkin’s first decades as an exhibiting artist. The forceful black structure on the surface, which both emerges from and imposes upon the frenetic mass of coloured lines beneath, resembles a chain of letters concealing a hidden message. The impressive, large-scale Painting with Festival of Britain Ornament (1991-2) belongs to the mid-period of Hopkin’s career. Defined areas and interlocking shapes emerge together with the dabs, spots and pulses that would become his signature motifs. On a smaller scale, The Art Master's Tie (2014-5) shows how this developed into Hopkin’s late style. Here, the joined-up shapes are of organic rather than geometric form and flat planes of bright colour are interlaced with exhaustive explorations of texture. Uniform stippling, nerve-like lines, and looser impasto brushwork define precise areas treated separately in great detail which resolve together into a complex, map-like structure.

The paintings are to be displayed in the main library where they join a growing selection of modern and contemporary work from the University Art Collection. For more information visit the University Art Collection website:
https://collections.reading.ac.uk/art-collections/collection-overview/search-browse/themes/main-library-artworks/

For more information about Marilyn Hallam and Clyde Hopkins, visit:
http://www.clydehopkins.com/ & http://www.marilynhallam.com/

Image credits:
1. Marilyn Hallam, Keyhole Camera, Stencils II (2017-9). Oil on canvas, 115 x 85cm, University of Reading Art Collection. © The Artist

2. Clyde Hopkins, Grizzled Skipper (1987). Oil on panel, University of Reading Art Collection. © The Estate of Clyde Hopkins

3. Clyde Hopkins, Painting with Festival of Britain Ornament (1991-2). Oil on canvas, 224 x 174 cm, University of Reading Art Collection. © The Estate of Clyde Hopkins

4. Clyde Hopkins, The Art Master's Tie (2014-5). Oil on linen, 70.5 x 55.5 cm, University of Reading Art Collection. © The Estate of Clyde Hopkins

5. Marilyn Hallam and Clyde Hopkins in the London Road Campus during a performance. Photograph courtesy of Marilyn Hallam.

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