Paintings
Stephen Hutchings: back to Artist
Artist Statement
Once the dark clouds have moved off, once the wind has settled down and the rain has subsided, perhaps a patch of blue appears in the sky. Perhaps a soft yellow light infuses the air and swirls of colour enliven the depths of the shadows. After the storm, the world is charged with an expectant energy: a kind of frisson that hovers between hope and relief. The paintings in this show address this moment — when the ravages of a furious energy have waned and a suffusing, gentle light seeps into our world.
The storm is, of course, metaphoric. The light is actually just paint-on-canvas. And the landscapes are more emotive than descriptive. Nonetheless, the moment when our world shifts, when our spirit rises, when we move into the spaces that open up before us — this is a subjective reality that transforms our everyday world into a future of possibility. -Stephen Hutchings
Artist Biography
Stephen Hutchings, born in Halifax in 1948, received a B.A. in Art History from the University of Toronto and attended the Ontario College of Art in the early 1970's. His work can be found in numerous museum, corporate and public collections including the Beaver Brook Art Gallery, New Brunswick, Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Museum London, Tom Thompson Memorial Art Gallery, Glenbow Museum, Department of Foreign Affairs, Scotiabank, Air Canada, Bank of Montreal and the Royal Bank of Canada. He currently resides in New Brunswick, Canada.
Hutchings has been featured in a number of traveling museum exhibitions across Canada: 2010 Landscapes for the End of Time Travel to 4 museums and gallery, starting at the Glenbow Museum in Calgary Alberta, featuring 8 x 18 ft canvas works with published critical essays by: Colleen Sharpe, Curator of Art, Glenbow Museum, Petra Halkes, writer/curator/teacher/artist, Mary Reid, Director/Curator of Art Gallery of the University of Manitoba and Vincent Varga, Executive Director and CEO of the Mendel Art Gallery in Saskatchewan and opened with the Griffin Quartet Ensemble. In 2012, Fury consisted of 6 paintings of storms for the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa Ontario. In 2019, the Beaverbrook Art Gallery exhibited Landscape Tales with a hardcover publication including a forward by John Leroux, Manager of Collections and Exhibitions.
Stephen Hutchings’ work is based in drawing, an interest he has had since childhood. Hutchings’ academic background includes studies in biology, literature and fine art, graduating with a degree in Art History. A master in chiaroscuro, Hutchings combines 19th Century photographic technique with charcoal drawing directly on the canvas to create images that have a heightened sense of reality. Colour is applied through the application of layers of oil glazes, or tints; each canvas may receive up to 10 such layers. The final result is a presentation of the unique refinement and energetic qualities that only a drawing can provide.
Pricing
Please see individual works
1070 Homer Street,
Vancouver, BC, V6B 2W9, Canada
T. 604.737.3969
E. info@kostuikgallery.com