Biography of John Aspegren Hodgson, Gourd Artist

“John’s gourds are emotionally unsettling – as very good art should be. I am unable to leave them in one setting, but rather must move and experiment with them in different venues over several years. It is an unusual, symbiotic, artistic and engaging relationship for me... His gourds are truly echoes from an ancient world.”  - Miklos Horvath, Budapest gallery owner.

John Hodgson currently lives in South Burlington Vermont. He was born in Salt Lake City in 1936. Because his father was a pilot involved in setting up the fledgling United Airlines and later the Philippine National Airlines, John spent most of his youth traveling with his family through America, Europe and Asia. He is a graduate of Denver University, a Korean War veteran and he served with the Mountain Command (10th Mountain Division) teaching skiing and cold weather survival.

But for most of his life, John concentrated on three professions whose skills he has merged with his gourd artistry – lighting and interior design, wood-working and photography. His passion has always been with color and light while his early experience of creating breathtaking and distinctive wood finishes has allowed him to produce a stunning classical collection of Gourds as Fine Art. His goal is to transform an almost pagan natural beauty with originality and creativity into a unique and dynamic human companion.

John was drawn to the gourd not only because of its infinite varieties of feminine roundness and the notable durability of the cellulose, but also because of the history of the gourd. They have been used as functional implements around the world since the beginning of time - such as their use by the Creek Indians as bird cages or for storing corn. In Neolithic times, gourd skins were even used, with very fine gold sheet, to cover the operating holes of early skull surgery. In Haiti they have been used as a national currency. The last Pope’s Zucca Skull cap has gourd ancestry. But gourds are also prized today by individuals and museums, in their best representations, as fine decorative art. Their former practicality is nostalgically enhanced in their new role as Fine Art medium. As with any fine art form, John knows that no two finished gourds are ever the same. He finishes only a few dozen pieces each year and all are signed, numbered, photographed and catalogued.

What separates John from the countless other gourd artists? Four principles. He does not employ Native American design. He feels it has been misused. He does not create gourds for functional purposes, just as he would not use a Picasso canvas as a tablecloth. Early uses focused only on practicality – but he feels that its current use as a three dimensional canvas has evolved further respect for it as a medium. He chooses only the finest shapes and qualities of gourd product as his canvas. The best design is wasted on an inferior form, so, the selection process is time consuming, but crucial. Working with the gourd to unlock its integral essence is a tangoing process. It must hold up in all daily and seasonal lights. And finally, John avoids the chemical finishes used by many and concentrates instead on an ancient formula using special Asian shellac and beeswax finishes with personally mixed oil coloring. There is a Rembrandt chiaroscuro effect in dim or natural light. The gourds dance in afternoon light.

John’s work--primarily his early antique tables, hutches and fine cabinets--is represented in many private collections. He ran his own workshop/gallery in Manchester Vermont where he exhibited his tables and furniture from 1974-1981, and was represented by the gallery “Modern Furniture” in East Hampton, New York from 1972-1980. From 1984 until 2000, he held yearly exhibits at the Gallerie D’Art Contemporain in Collieure, France. He learned his old world finishing techniques in Colonial Williamsburg with restoration specialists and with the Japanese master George Nakashima in New Hope, PA.