ABOUT THE ARTIST: Statement |
Exhibitions
Young British artist Nicholas Hutcheson will present his first
Australian exhibition of contemporary drawings / works on paper
at Andrew Baker Art Dealer in February 2004. Born in Buckinghamshire,
England in 1975, Nicholas studied Illustration at Bristol University
and since graduating has exhibited in London, Bristol, Cardiff and
Stroud (UK).
Inspired by the mummies of the Attacama desert (Chile) and by the
remains of animals and trees in Australia’s arid outback,
the works map the passage of time upon these structures. Outsized
and striking, the pieces construct interior landscapes from vestiges
of skin, bone and bark – simultaneously familiar and surprising.
Nicholas’ accomplished mark-making and deft use of colour
produces arresting and unsettling works of complexity and originality.
This exhibition marks a shift in subject matter for the artist.
Hitherto concerned with the disintegration of monolithic man-made
structures industrial landscapes, his new work draws upon organic
structures affected by the depredations of time. Observed when travelling
in South America, the Chinchorro mummies are remarkable for their
shapes, colours and plasticity. Dismembered, re-assembled (with
the addition of reeds, clay, sticks and llama fur) and re-upholstered,
the bodies of the departed were coated with black manganese or brilliant
red ochre.
The colours of the Attacama are echoed in Nicholas’ works
dealing with Australia’s interior where bauxite and ochre
are the ceremonial adornment of the living rather than the dead.
Preserved in aridity, the desiccated forms of kangaroos, lizards
and trees come to resemble the geography and geology of the land
itself: layers of strata contoured by the millennia.
‘All that Remains’ gives us trees shedding bark alongside
the disinterred remains of a 7000 year old man – and reveals
the beauty beneath the surface of skin.
Press release from February 04.
Biography
1975 Born Amersham, Buckinghamshire, England
1980–85 Lived Oslo, Norway
2003 Travels to South America and outback Australia
2004 Lived and worked Brisbane, Queensland
2005Currently Living in Melbourne
Education
2002–03 City and Guilds in Printmaking, London College of
Printing, London, England
1994–97 Bachelor of Arts—Illustration, (First class
honours), The University of West of England, Bristol, England
Exhibitions
Solo Exhibition
2004 All That Remains, Andrew Baker Art Dealer, Brisbane, Australia
Group Exhibitions
2006 The Body Show, Brusnwick Street Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
2005 The Discovery Art Show, Gasworks Art Park, Melbourne, Australia
The Figure, Jiotto Studio, Melbourne, Australia
2004 The Unusual Suspects II, Andrew Baker Art Dealer, Brisbane,
Australia
2001 Stripe Gallery, East London, England
2000 Artspace, West London, England
1999 Constructed Landscapes, Stroud House Gallery, Stroud, Gloucestershire,
England
1998 Inaugural Exhibition, The Cardiff Bay Arts Trust, Cardiff,
Wales
Graduation Show, Gallery X, Central London, England
1997–98 The Sound and Image Project, The Watershed Gallery,
Bristol, England (Touring exhibition)
1997 Future Monoliths, The University of West of England, Bristol,
England
Public Collections
Bundanon Collection, New South Wales, Australia
Eversheds Collection, Bristol, England
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