SIMON HITCHENS

SIMON HITCHENS

Trace - artist statement

As a sculptor, my practice is multi-disciplinary: working through a variety of mediums as well as drawing, painting and film in order to explore and execute my ideas. I work on large-scale public sculpture commissions where the work is concerned with specifics of place whilst retaining the integrity of my own sculptural voice. At the same time, I push ideas within my studio practice through research and investigation where I experiment with materials and concepts: this is the core of my practice, part of which has led to this particular body of drawings - Deconstructing Wholeness.

Drawing often enables me to clarify my concepts before I commit to exploring them further, or sometimes acts as a deciphering tool after I have finished a sculpture. Drawing can also act as a touchstone to the more instinctive side of my practice. It acts as a bridge between my conscious thoughts and my subconscious. I often work in series, searching out abstract feelings akin to navigating through a foggy landscape. 

The starting point for the drawings in this exhibition, are the shadows cast from stones local to my studio environment. In these drawings I have set up a system of prescribed rules where my hand becomes an objective tool to create the drawing and I let the system run until it is complete. I am not focused on an end result before I start, instead I relax into the meditative actions needed for the completion of the task. The titles Deconstructing Wholeness are descriptive of my actions and perceptions of humble stones which most individuals would overlook. My aim is to discover different ways to perceive rock, this most ubiquitous of Earth’s materials. 

The natural world is an endless source of inspiration to me, and a direct tool I use to create my work. Rock is the material focus and conceptual back bone to my creative practice. By drawing it, I attempt to deepen my understanding of the interconnectedness between the human and the non-human, as a means of understanding our relationship with impermanence.

CV

Summary

My public commissions have an acute awareness of the specifics of place, whilst retaining the integrity of my own sculptural voice. From the early design stages where engineers calculate physical forces, to continuous quality control and the meticulous planning aspects needed for successful installation, I work with teams who have proactive approaches to problem solving. I also draw upon the experience of exhibiting my art in galleries throughout the UK and abroad.  I graduated from UWE in 1990 with BA/Hons Fine Art, am a Fellow of the Royal Society of Sculptors (RSS) and currently a Trustee, and am an Academician of the Royal West of England Academy.

Solo Exhibitions

2019: Thinking Beyond Rock, Cheeseburn, Northumberland

2017: Touchstones, b-side, Portland

2009: A Separate Reality, Royal British Society of Sculptors, London

2008: Presence and Absence, Maddox Arts, London

2006: In The Presence of Absence, Napoleon Garden, Holland Park, London

2005: Silent Forms, Spica Museum, Tokyo

2004: Present, Paul Stolper Gallery, London

2004: In the Presence of Absence, St Stephen Walbrook, City of London

2004: Seeking the Sublime, Hestercombe and the Brewhouse, Taunton, Somerset

1998: Soul, A22 Lystall Street, Paul Stolper, London

Over 100 Selected Exhibitions from 1991 to 2020

Public Commissions

2015: The Space Between. Forbury Place, Forbury Road, Reading

2015: Evidence of the Unseen Mountain. Chelsea Manor Street, Chelsea, London

2014: Glorious Beauty. 375 Kensington High Street, London

2013: Unity. Canal Reach Kings Cross, London

2013: Transition Point. The Leys, Cambridge

2008: From Dawn until Dusk. Sea Road, Boscombe, Bournemouth

2007: Parallel Presence. Limeharbour, Isle of Dogs, London

2005: Coastline. Washington Square, Workington

2003: Shining Silence: 100 Brompton Road, London

2001: Rubus Five. Radius Court, Eastern Road, Bracknell

1999: Quiet Understanding. Conquest Hospital, Hastings