JOHN HITCHENS Aspects of Landscape - SOUTHAMPTON - Southampton City Art Gallery
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
JOHN HITCHENS
Aspects of Landscape
SOUTHAMPTON
CITY ART GALLERY
John Hitchens Introduction
‘Aspects of Landscape’ coincides with there are now four generations of
John Hitchens’ 80th birthday. This major Hitchens artists on the site, John being
retrospective presents the first overview accompanied by his father Ivon, his
of his work over nearly sixty years, in all grandfather Alfred and his son Simon.
its variety. Thanks to the space available
across four exhibition galleries at the Over the past decades, Hitchens’ work
Southampton City Art Gallery, it has been has evolved and changed considerably.
possible to include some large-scale His inquisitive mind and prodigious
paintings which have not been seen in creativity continue to find new ways of
public before. seeing forms, patterns, light and colour,
John Hitchens was born in 1940. The main source of his paintings are the
and connections between them in our
He was educated at Bedales School, landscapes of the British Isles.
Much of Hitchens’ work is influenced landscape, and of presenting them for
Petersfield, Hampshire, and studied by the landscape of Sussex and the the viewer to behold.
A period photographing these
fine art at Bath Academy of Art at South Downs, where he grew up and
landscapes from the air, gave him an
Corsham (1958–61). where he still has his studio. He first In my mind, it is this sensitive
awareness of land as a two-dimensional
composition. Much of his current work became known as a landscape painter observation of landscape, of man-made
He lives and works near Petworth,
is abstract, with strong landscape in the 1960s and ’70s, with several solo patterns and traces on the land, that
West Sussex.
associations. exhibitions in London. makes John Hitchens’ work so relevant at
His paintings are held in many public a time when many of us are re-thinking
and private collections in the UK and John Hitchens comes from a family Public collections across the UK have our relationship to the land we inhabit.
abroad. John Hitchens’ work has been of painters, including his father, Ivon acquired his work, and these paintings
shown in more than 30 solo exhibitions Hitchens (1893 -1979) and grandfather, are now displayed on the Art UK website Andrew Ellis
and in numerous group shows. Alfred Hitchens (1861 -1942). for the world to see. Interestingly, Director of Art UK
Studio view, 2016 Studio view, 2016, with ‘Grounds’
2 3
Gallery 1
‘Departure’ – Recent Paintings, 2000 onwards
Departure, 2005,
oil on canvas, 163 × 129 cm / 64 × 50 in
John Hitchens’ retrospective begins with interpretation, with objects inhabiting
seven large-scale works painted in the their own environment and space.
past two decades, between his 60th and
80th birthdays. These have not been Dots and lines reflect rows of stubble,
shown in public before. post-holes in the ground and paths
on the hills. Dark areas hark back to
They explore new ways of seeing and
the custom of stubble burning, which
depicting aspects of landscape, and
remained common into the 1990s.
represent a departure from the artist’s
earlier depictions of wide horizons and
The viewer’s relationship with these
large skies in the South Downs, Scotland
large canvases changes with proximity,
and Wales, painted up to the 1980s
as smaller areas of detail capture the
(Galleries 3, 4).
landscape on a more intimate scale.
A period of working with aerial
photography, flying low over the fields of Alongside these large works Hitchens
the South Downs, had given Hitchens a has, since the 1990s, created a separate
different awareness of the landscape. The body of work using shaped and textured
subject matter of these recent paintings canvases, often singly and on a smaller
is still landscape-related but freer in its scale (Gallery 2).
left
Layered Land, 2002,
oil on canvas, 117 × 91.5 cm / 46 × 36 in (detail)
4 5
Gallery 1 ‘Departure’ – Recent Paintings, 2000 onwards Contour Sequence, 2004, oil on canvas, 117 × 91.5 cm / 46 × 36 in 6 7
Gallery 2
‘Land Quest’ and Related Works, 1990s / 2000s
The decade after 1990 saw fundamental Another innovation of this time saw
changes in Hitchens’ work and in his Hitchens depart from the use of
approach to the subject of landscape. conventional square-cornered canvases.
His paintings reveal the influence of
He dispensed with many features of his other, three-dimensional art forms, such
earlier work and turned his attention to
as land art and sculpture. The selection
exploring landscape through its essential
of works in this gallery includes examples
elements, such as stones, sand or wood.
of distinctive, irregularly shaped and
Structures were reduced to the basic
layered canvases.
forms of line and circle.
A group of collages and paintings based As Hitchens’ approach to his subject
on stone circles belong to this period. changed, so too did his practice, with the
A cluster of works explore cup-shaped transition from painting in the landscape
forms based on partly opened circles, to working as a studio artist. Indoors,
partly enclosed centres or hollow forms the shifting arrangement of the studio
in wood. The device of outlining an area and its collection of found, assembled
repeatedly with parallel lines draws both and created objects has since become a
on soil formations and more transient source of inspiration in itself, as well as a
patterns created by the plough. living installation (Gallery 0).
Land Quest, 2017,
acrylic on canvas, 127 × 127 cm / 50 × 50 in
Four Fields Gathering No. 2, 2006, Four Fields Gathering No. 3, 2006, Opening Links, 2000,
acrylic on canvas, 99 × 122 cm / 39 × 48 in acrylic on canvas, 99 × 122 cm / 39 × 48 in oil on canvas, 77 × 203 cm / 30 × 80 in
8 9
Gallery 2 ‘Land Quest’ and Related Works, 1990s / 2000s Field Interweave, 2009, acrylic on canvas, 113 × 206 cm / 44½ × 81 in 10 11
Gallery 3
‘Through the Blue Day’ – Far Wood and other Landscapes, 1970s / 1980s
Through the Blue Day, 1984,
oil on canvas, 61 × 213 cm / 24 × 84 in
The main focus of this room is the Far 1970s. Painted at Selsey and various dispense with skylines and cloud A large number of smaller paintings
Wood series of paintings, which make up locations in Scotland, they show formations, and his paintings were featuring the Wealden view from
a large part of John Hitchens’ work from Hitchens interpreting other landscapes in becoming freer in their construction Duncton Hill, and scenes in Wales and
this period. the British Isles, such as the wide, sandy and brushwork. Towards the end of this the Scottish Highlands, date to the
beaches of North Uist. period, the Great Storm of 1987 hastened same period. These had to be omitted
Far Wood, with its dense vegetation, lies these developments by introducing from the exhibition but are represented
near the artist’s Sussex studio. Locations The Far Wood landscapes of the 1980s new and unfamiliar forms to Hitchens’ in the artist’s monograph, published
further afield gave rise to a contrasting are characteristic of Hitchens’ approach subject matter. concurrently by Sansom & Co.
group of paintings in the course of the at this time. He was beginning to
12 13
Gallery 3
‘Through the Blue Day’ – Far Wood and other Landscapes, 1970s / 1980s
Sollas Sand, 1969,
oil on canvas, 50.5 × 76 cm / 20 × 30 in
above
Church Norton, March Sunset, 1970,
oil on canvas, 43 × 151.5 cm / 17 × 59¾ in
left
Through the Blue Day, 1984,
oil on canvas, 61 × 213 cm / 24 × 84 in (detail)
14 15
Gallery 4
‘South Downs Blue Hill’ – Early Paintings, 1960s / 1970s
right
South Downs Blue Hill, 1964,
oil on canvas, 40.5 × 91.5 cm / 16 × 36 in
below
Poppy Arrangement, 1967,
oil on canvas, 63 × 76 cm / 25 × 30 in
below right
Summer Corn, 1971,
oil on canvas, 63.5 × 76 cm / 25 × 30 in
‘South Downs Blue Hill’ is one of Following the gallery’s closure, he was
the earliest works in John Hitchens’ represented by Montpelier Studio, also in
retrospective. Painted in 1964, it shows a London.
view of the South Downs landscape close This part of the exhibition shows several
to his Sussex studio – an environment examples of Hitchens’ early landscapes,
which has been a defining influence featuring open spaces, hills, the sea, and
throughout his artistic life. cloud formations.
1964 also marked the year of Hitchens’ Flowers were another theme of this
first solo exhibition in London, at period. The resulting group of paintings
the age of 24. It was mounted by the includes examples of abstraction,
Marjorie Parr Gallery, where many of his reducing flowers to spaces of colour, as
subsequent solo exhibitions were held. well as later, more naturalistic works.
16 17
Main Hall Published on the occasion of the exhibition:
JOHN HITCHENS
Aspects of Landscape
Sansom & Co., ISBN: 978-1-9114-0-50-2
Hardback, 297 × 300mm / 300pp / £45.00
Aspects of Landscape is the first The book presents the full span of John
Studio view, 2016 with ‘From Sombre Lands, Orchestral’
monograph dedicated to the work of Hitchens’ career to date: a journey
Two recent paintings resulting from John Hitchens. In artworks created leading from early, descriptive paintings
John Hitchens’ collaboration with American over a period of more than five decades, towards more minimalist and abstract
composer Peter Dayton are displayed in the Hitchens explores different ways of interpretations of nature, progressively
Main Hall: seeing the landscape of the British Isles, reducing its forms to lines, circles and
seeking inspiration in the natural forms patterns. In recent years, Hitchens has
From Sombre Lands, Orchestral, 2016, of its hills, woodlands, fields, seas and developed a visual language notably
oil on canvas, 183 × 366 cm / 72 × 144 in skies. distinct from other contemporary
abstract painting.
Grounds, 2018, Hitchens achieved early acclaim in the
1960s and ’70s, when he was represented This new study opens with a foreword
oil on canvas, 84 × 366 cm / 33 × 144 in
by the Marjorie Parr Gallery and by the art critic and curator Andrew
(see page 2)
Montpelier Studio in London. A series Lambirth and is introduced by Professor
of successful exhibitions led numerous Michael Tucker. Caroline Collier,
See also the composer’s website:
public and private collections in the UK previously a director at Tate, contributes
www.peterdaytonmusic.com/grounds-string-orchestra
and overseas to acquire his work. His a biographical essay informed by long
(A newly released record of the composer’s work painting has since evolved in style while acquaintance with the artist.
is on sale at the gallery.) remaining rooted in the landscape of the
South Downs and the woods surrounding
Photographs on pages 2, 3 and 18 © Anne Purkiss
his studio.
18 1913 MARCH – 27 JUNE 2020 Opening Times: Mon to Fri: 10am – 3pm, Sat: 10am – 5pm, Sun: Closed, Bank Holidays: 10am – 3pm. Free Admission S o u t h a m p t o n C i t y A r t G a l l e r y, C o m m e rc i a l Ro a d , S o u t h a m p t o n S O 1 4 7 L P Emma’s Field, 2015, oil on canvas, 103 × 230.5 cm / 40½ × 90½ in
You can also read
