Peter Hutchinson (artist) explained

Peter Arthur Hutchinson
Birth Place:	London

Peter Arthur Hutchinson (born 1930) is a British-born artist living in the United States. Hutchinson is one of the pioneers of the Land Art movement.^[1]

He is also considered a narrative and mixed media, conceptual artist.^[2] Along his photo-collages, he uses gouache, woad, and handwritten texts which reveal his playful wit and prioritization of subjective experience as an important part of his artworks.^[3]

Biography

A native of London, Hutchinson moved to the United States in 1952 and received his BFA in painting from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1960.^[1] In 1981 he moved to Provincetown, Massachusetts, where he still lives.^[4]

Hutchinson has received grants from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, and The Adolph & Esther Gottlieb Foundation.^[5] His artwork is in museum collections including the Museum of Modern Art,^[6] Centre Georges Pompidou, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Basel.^[7]

Artistic style

Hutchinson is known for his photo-based conceptual artworks in which he documents his ephemeral interventions on the landscape itself. These interventions often utilize flowers, food, and found objects to interact with the landscape, including the ocean, mountains, fields, beaches, volcanoes, icebergs, deserts, and other natural environments. Photographs of these interventions are accompanied by handwritten text describing the work, along with the date that the work occurred.^[8] Although sometimes, as a witty pun, the date on the work itself is not the date when it was actually realized (see example on Wikimedia Commons.)

Hutchinson was inspired by early landscape painting and garden art, explained in part by his English roots, and also by his early interest in plant genetics.^[9] He often focuses on subjects about relationship between humans, animals, and nature and observes processes and changes, such as ecological systems of growth and decay in nature. In his biographical notes to his exhibit of 1977 (Selected Works 1968-1977^[10]), Hutchinson documented an example of such early work at the Paricutin volcano in Mexico where, in 1970, he laid a 100-yard line of bread along faults at the crater edge. This bread was used to grow mold over a 6-day period with the change in color visible from photos of the volcano taken from the air.

Hutchinson also used palindromes in his work “Step on no pets” in 1973, and “God saw I was Dog, Dog saw I was God” in 1976, set of 5 color and black and white photographs, a piece in the permanent collections of the Musée National d’Art Moderne, Centre Pompidou, in Paris, France.^[11]

Selected Solo Exhibitions

• 2019 Peter Hutchinson: Landscapes of My Life, deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, Lincoln, MA, USA^[12]
• 2015 “Peter Hutchinson”, Fonds Regional d’Art Contemporain (FRAC) Bretagne, Rennes, France^[13]
• 2009 “Peter Hutchinson - Erträumte Paradiese / Dreamed Paradises” (fifty-year review of work), Arp Museum, Rolandseck, Germany^[14]
• 2001 Thrown Ropes Remagen, Arp Museum Rolandseck, Rolandseck, Germany^[15]

Selected Group Exhibits

• 2022 “Vous êtes ici” at the Centre d'Art Contemporain de Pontmain (CNAP), Pontmain, France^[16] * *
• 2018 “A propos du Land Art” at the Fonds Regional d’Art Contemporain (FRAC) Limousin, Limoges, France^[17]
• 2016 “Sublime. The Tremors of the World” at the Centre Pompidou Metz, France^[18]
• 2014 “Bad Thoughts, Collection Martijn and Jeannette Sanders” at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Netherlands^[19]
• 2012 “Ends of the Earth: Land Art to 1974” at the MOCA Los Angeles, CA^[20]
• 2003 “Look, it’s snowing (Schizogeography of Everyday Life)” at the International Center for Art and Landscape, Isle of Vassivière, France^[21]
• 2001 “About Face: Selections from the Department of Prints and Illustrated Books” at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, NY^[22]
• 1999 “Sight Gags: Grotesque, Caricature and Wit in Modern and Contemporary Drawings” at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, NY^[23]
• 1991 “Unnatural Attitudes” at the International Center for Art and Landscape (Centre National d’Art et du Paysage - Vassivière et Limousin), Isle of Vassivière, France^[24]
• 1986 “Naked/Nude: Contemporary Prints” at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, NY^[25]
• 1976 “Photography for Collectors” at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, NY^[26]
• 1976 “The Golden Door: Artist-Immigrants of America, 1876-1976” Smithsonian Institution, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden^{[27] [28]}
• 1975 “Collectors of the Seventies, Part I: Dorothy and Herbert Vogel” at MoMA PS1, New York, NY^[29]
• 1975 “Artists Make Toys” at MoMA PS1, New York, NY^[30]
• 1973 “Recent Acquisitions, 1968–1973” at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, NY^[31]

Museum Collections

• Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany
• Academy Art Museum, Easton, Maryland^[32]
• Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, Cedar Rapids, Iowa^[33]
• Daum Museum of Contemporary Art, Sedalia, Missouri^[34]
• Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha, Nebraska^[35]
• Mississippi Museum of Art, Jackson, Mississippi^[36]
• Musée National d’Art Moderne, Centre Pompidou, Paris, France^[37]
• Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA^[38]
• Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, NY, USA^[39]
• National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, USA^[40]
• Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA^[41]
• Plains Art Museum, Fargo, North Dakota^[42]
• Portland Museum of Art, Portland, Maine^[43]
• Spencer Museum of Art, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS^[44]
• The Provincetown Art Association and Museum, Provincetown, MA^[45]
• University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, Michigan^[46]
• Weisman Art Museum, University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota^[47]
• Whitney Museum of American Art^[48]

Bibliography

• Book: Hutchinson . Peter . Ratcliff . Carter . Beckley . Bill . Thrown rope . 10 January 2006 . Princeton Architectural Press . New York . 9781568985619.
• Book: Hutchinson . Peter . Peter Hutchinson : works 1968-1974 : [Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, 25.10.-1.12.1974] ]. 1974 . Stedelijk Museum . Amsterdam . Issue 567 of Catalogus Stedelijk Museum .

Notes and References

1. Web site: Peter Hutchinson . Artnet.com . Artnet Worldwide Corporation . 24 October 2018.
2. Web site: Peter Hutchinson: From Earth Art to Story Art . 2022-09-10 . www.artforum.com . December 1977 . en-US.
3. Web site: Peter Hutchinson: Landscapes of My Life . 2022-09-10 . The Trustees of Reservations . en.
4. Web site: Provincetown Review: The Eye of Nature, Peter Hutchinson. ptownie: News and Calendar Provincetown, MA.
5. Web site: Archived copy . 2018-07-19 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181025150039/http://www.freightandvolume.com/attachment/en/53a058b5a9aa2c11438b4568/TextOneColumnWithFile/53a058d0a9aa2c11438b46c8 . 2018-10-25 . dead .
6. Web site: Peter Hutchinson MoMA . 2022-06-11 . The Museum of Modern Art . en.
7. Web site: Peter Hutchinson - Artists - Gaa Gallery. Gaa-gallery.com.
8. New York Media, LLC. New York Magazine. Newyorkmetro.com. 24 October 2018. 28 October 1974. New York Media, LLC. 101. 0028-7369.
9. Web site: Peter Hutchinson: From Earth Art to Story Art . 2022-09-11 . www.artforum.com . December 1977 . en-US.
10. Web site: Peter Hutchinson, Selected Works 1968-1977 . 2022-09-11 . www.worldcat.org.
11. Web site: God saw I was Dog / Dog saw I was God (Dieu vit que j'étais chien / le chien vit que j'étais Dieu) . 2022-09-11 . Centre Pompidou . en-EN.
12. Web site: Peter Hutchinson: Landscapes of My Life . 2022-09-11 . The Trustees of Reservations . en.
13. Web site: Peter Hutchinson FRAC Bretagne - Exhibition 2015-2016 .
14. Web site: Peter Hutchinson - Erträumte Paradiese / Dreamed Paradises - Arp Museum Bahnhof Rolandseck 2009 by Hutchinson, Peter: Sehr gut Broschiert (2009) Verlag IL Kunst, Literatur & Antiquariat . 2022-09-11 . www.abebooks.com . en.
15. Web site: Peter Hutchinson – Thrown Ropes Remagen / Arp Museum Rolandseck . 2022-09-11 . arpmuseum.org . en.
16. Web site: Vous êtes ici Cnap . 2022-09-11 . www.cnap.fr.
17. Web site: ArtFacts . A propos du Land Art Exhibition . 2022-09-11 . ArtFacts . en.
18. Web site: Sublime. The Tremors of the World at Centre Pompidou-Metz Metz - Artmap.com . 2022-09-11 . artmap.com.
19. Web site: Grrr.nl . Bad Thoughts - Collection Martijn and Jeannette Sanders . 2022-09-11 . Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam . en.
20. Web site: Ends of the Earth: Land Art to 1974 . 2022-09-11 . www.moca.org.
21. Web site: "Look, it's snowing (Schizogeography of Everyday Life)" at Centre International d'Art et du Paysage – Île de Vassivière . 2022-09-11 . Centre International d’Art et du Paysage.
22. Web site: About Face: Selections from the Department of Prints and Illustrated Books MoMA . 2022-09-11 . The Museum of Modern Art . en.
23. Web site: Sight Gags: Grotesque, Caricature and Wit in Modern and Contemporary Drawings MoMA . 2022-09-11 . The Museum of Modern Art . en.
24. Web site: Centre International d'Art et du Paysage – Île de Vassivière . 2022-09-11 . Centre International d’Art et du Paysage.
25. Web site: Naked/Nude: Contemporary Prints MoMA . 2022-09-11 . The Museum of Modern Art . en.
26. Web site: Photography for Collectors MoMA . 2022-09-11 . The Museum of Modern Art . en.
27. Web site: The Golden Door: Artist-Immigrants of America, 1876-1976 . 2022-09-11 . Smithsonian Institution . en.
28. Web site: Archives . Smithsonian Institution . 1974–1979 . The Golden Door: Artist-Immigrants of America, 1876-1976 (Bicentennial Exhibition) . 2022-09-11 . Smithsonian Institution Archives . en.
29. Web site: Collectors of the Seventies, Part I: Dorothy and Herbert Vogel MoMA . 2022-09-11 . The Museum of Modern Art . en.
30. Web site: Artists Make Toys MoMA . 2022-09-11 . The Museum of Modern Art . en.
31. Web site: Recent Acquisitions, 1968–1973 MoMA . 2022-09-11 . The Museum of Modern Art . en.
32. Web site: Vogel 50x50: Collection: Continental Divide . 2022-09-11 . vogel5050.org.
33. Web site: The Herbert and Dorothy Vogel Collection catalog - Cedar Rapids Museum of Art .
34. Web site: Vogel 50x50: Collection: Photograph and Map of Calabash in Tobago . 2022-09-11 . vogel5050.org.
35. Web site: Vogel 50x50: Collection: Undersea Oranges . 2022-09-11 . vogel5050.org.
36. Web site: Vogel 50x50: Collection: "Photograph and Map of Tobago Project" . 2022-09-11 . vogel5050.org.
37. Web site: God saw I was Dog / Dog saw I was God (Dieu vit que j'étais chien / le chien vit que j'étais Dieu) . 2022-09-11 . Centre Pompidou . en-EN.
38. Web site: Peter Hutchinson at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston .
39. Web site: Peter Hutchinson MoMA . 2022-09-11 . The Museum of Modern Art . en.
40. Web site: Artist Info . 2022-09-11 . www.nga.gov.
41. Web site: Peter Hutchinson at Philadelphia Museum of Art .
42. Web site: Vogel 50x50: Collection: Chemical Sculpture with Four Tubes . 2022-09-11 . vogel5050.org.
43. Web site: Vogel 50x50: Collection: Chemical Sculpture on Volcanic Rock . 2022-09-11 . vogel5050.org.
44. Web site: Peter Hutchinson at Spencer Museum of Art . 2022-09-11 . spencerartapps.ku.edu.
45. Web site: 2014-03-03 . Artists represented in the Permanent Collection at Provincetown Art Association and Museum. PAAM . 2022-09-11 . en-US.
46. Web site: Vogel 50x50: Collection: Paricutin Volcano Project . 2022-09-11 . vogel5050.org.
47. Web site: Vogel 50x50: Collection: Paricutin Volcano Project . 2022-09-11 . vogel5050.org.
48. Web site: Peter Hutchinson . 2022-09-11 . whitney.org . en.