Convergence: Paintings By John Hitchens

About

John Hitchens was born the son and grandson of painters, Ivon Hitchens and Alfred Hitchens respectively. He studied Fine Art at Bath Academy of Art in Corsham from 1958 until 1961 and gained early recognition for his work through solo exhibitions in London, notably at the Marjorie Parr Gallery, 1964–76, and Montpelier Studio, 1982–88. Having grown up and lived for many years in the Sussex countryside, Hitchens draws deeply upon the landscapes, materials, and objects found on the South Downs and Sussex coast. Over the course of more than fifty years, his approach to the subject has evolved. As he recalls, ‘the early paintings were an intuitive response to the landscape that I saw before me. During the past thirty years, this has led me to use a wider visual vocabulary to explore the creative possibilities offered by the subject.’ A major retrospective of John Hitchens’ work was shown at the Southampton City Art Gallery in 2020, and one of his recent paintings, ‘Land Quest’, was acquired for the gallery’s permanent collection. His pictures are held in private and public collections such as the Towner Art Gallery, Eastbourne; British Steel Corporation, London; Imperial Health Charity Art Collection; and the University of Oxford. Further work in other collections is displayed online by ART UK. The monograph John Hitchens: Aspects of Landscape was published by Sansom in 2020.

The exhibition is accompanied by a fully illustrated printed catalogue, available from Felix & Spear Gallery.