WOOD - SAND - STONE

The painter John Hitchens has followed in the footsteps of his father (Ivon) and grandfather (Alfred). Both were distinguished painters working in the local Sussex landscape.
John Hitchens’ works are likewise heavily influenced by the South Downs area where he grew up and where his studio is based. His paintings are concerned with the textures, colours and patterns he sees in the surrounding landscape.

During the past decades, he has developed a more abstract style to reflect this, often using the natural materials found in the landscape, such as wood, sand and stone. This recent work brings together his close observation of the natural world, a collection-based approach to creating and an appreciation of traditional materials and craftsmanship.

‘Wood - Sand – Stone’ will be John Hitchens’ first exhibition showing only paintings on natural materials, exploring the interaction between nature, space and form. It includes visually stunning creations in earthy tones, such as the centre part of ‘Painted Wooden Uprights’. It presents also new pieces in a series of ‘Landscape Stones’ and earlier works using locally sourced layers of sand.
With this exhibition, John Hitchens invites viewers to connect with the natural world, encouraging them to see beauty, complexity and creative potential in the landscape that surrounds us.