Esme Hodsoll
Born 1992 in London, United Kingdom
Lives and works in Paris

British contemporary artist Esme Hodsoll interrogates the intersections of temporality, materiality, and quotidian domesticity through meticulously rendered observational paintings. Working primarily in oils, Hodsoll's practice is distinguished by its radical commitment to sustained engagement with ordinary objects, transforming the mundane into sites of profound contemplation and phenomenological inquiry.

Drawing upon and simultaneously disrupting the historical canon of still life painting, Hodsoll's work subverts traditional hierarchies of subject matter by elevating prosaic contemporary objects—plastic containers, utilitarian implements, and domestic ephemera—to subjects worthy of months-long scrutiny. Through her durational approach to observation and mark-making, she creates palimpsestic surfaces that chronicle the subtle variations in light, atmosphere, and material presence that emerge through extended periods of looking.

Her methodological approach involves the painstaking accumulation of thin oil layers, resulting in works that possess an almost archaeological quality, where time itself becomes materially embedded within the painting's surface. This temporal dimension manifests not merely as technique but as conceptual framework, challenging contemporary modes of accelerated visual consumption and digital mediation.

Hodsoll's practice can be situated within broader discourses surrounding attention economics and the politics of seeing in our hypermediated age. Her works function as sites of resistance against the velocity of contemporary image culture, demanding a decelerated engagement that mirrors her own durational investment in the painting process. Through this deliberate slowing of perception, Hodsoll reveals the extraordinary complexity inherent in seemingly ordinary objects, inviting viewers to reconsider their relationship with the material world that surrounds them.

Education
2016 Royal Drawing School, London, UK
2015 Pennighen, École de Direction Artistique et Architecture Intérieure, Paris, France

Recent solo and group exhibitions include: Beach, Nino Mier, New york, US (2023), ‘Katja Farin, Maria Farrar, Esme Hodsoll, Alyina Zaidi’, lexander Berggruen, New York, US (2023), New Nature, PATERSON ZEVI, London, UK (2022), Shelf Life, Marlborough, London, UK (2022). Air du Temps, ALMA ZEVI, Venice, Italy (2021).