JOSEPH M. HUTCHINSON
2 CHAPALA ROAD SANTA FE, NM 87508 505-466-1366 . profjmh@gmail.com
Web Sites:
www.jmjutchinson.com (USA)
www.saatchiart.com/jmhutchinson (UK)
www.artfinder.com/jmhutchinson (UK)
Facebook: Joseph M. Hutchinson
STATEMENT
When I started my professional painting career I worked extensively in abstract expressionism. I went on to earn a Master of Arts in Art History and specialized in Modernism in Art and in Architecture. This concentration, and my own art, were connected and embraced the ideas of discovery, process and invention.
Just as the visual art world has changed, my art has changed. Following my retirement from university teaching and moving to the Southwest, I started painting expressionistic landscape, still life and American Indian motifs. I also began explore what is possible in the representation of the human figure. The depiction of the head or face is one of the most compelling images in our visual language and in world art.
This may have started when I taught for seven semesters in Italy and one in the United Kingdom and observed the work of the European, Renaissance and Baroque masters. The impact made me consider "what is art?"
Currently, I have started a new series of figurative themes that are (more-or-less) based on myths and illuminated with passages of gold paint. These recent paintings have come from several sources -- travel, my early research in Medieval and Gothic manuscripts, onsite lecturing on the Early Renaissance artists and altar pieces in Italy. Certainly, Gustav Klimt was an influences but he didn't have exclusive rights to use gold to enhance his art. Gold is the single metal that has obsessed mankind for six millennia. It is the symbol of power, status and beauty across the ages.
As well, I work hard to make sure some small passages are carefully detailed — a push-and-pull with the ambitious sections. I try to generate small feelings — little moments of discovery, beauty and sensation that hold the viewers attention.
