Peter Hutchinson

Man's Condition

January 21 - March 13

Gaa Projects Cologne

Gaa Gallery is pleased to present Man's Condition, a solo exhibition of work by Peter Hutchinson at the gallery's Cologne location. Hutchinson's fourth solo exhibition with Gaa will feature works on paper and sculptures created between the 1970s and the early 2000s. Please join us for the opening on Friday, January 21 from 5 - 9 pm at Antwerpener Str. 4, 50672 Köln.

Regarded as a central figure in the Land Art and Narrative Art movements, for over 60 years, Peter Hutchinson has created a diverse body of work that integrates sculpture, photography, and text with site-specific installations and environmental interventions. The exhibition at Gaa Projects walks the viewer through thirty years of Hutchinson's artist practice. The central and title-bearing work of the exhibition, Man's Condition, leads the viewer through the whistful, celebratory, and joyful aspects of the condition of man, as well as heavier and more mortal facets. In addition, the exhibition features a selection of box sculptures and photo collages. In his box sculptures, Hutchinson combines objects with text and image to produce works that explore the ways in which language and nature are intertwined through mutation and evolution. His photo collages incorporate hand-drawn elements and text. Featuring abundant and hybrid landscapes composed of images from his travels around the world and within the bounds of his home garden, Hutchinson offers poetic observations and ecological ruminations of lived and imagined experience.

Peter Hutchinson's (b. 1930, London, England, based in Provincetown, MA) early work emerged out of minimalist paintings and geometric sculptures that drew influence from Sol LeWitt and Tadaaki Kuwayama. In the late 1960s and early 70s, with the realization of several earthworks, including the Parícutin Project, Hutchinson's work quickly evolved into an intricate hybrid of site-specific sculptures, photo-collages, and proposals for re-imagined landscapes. During this time, Hutchinson's work was featured in several groundbreaking exhibitions, including Ocean Projects with Dennis Oppenheim at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY and Ecologic Art at the John Gibson Gallery, New York, NY, which established him as an early and prominent figure in the Land Art and Narrative Art movements.

Drawing comparison to the action-based work of colleagues such as Hamish Fulton and Richard Long, Hutchinson's ephemeral interventions with monumental landscapes from his many travels, as well as the micro-landscapes of his overflowing garden in Provincetown, MA, embody a nuanced and joyful engagement with nature. Pairing personal observation with science fiction, experimentation, and humor, Hutchinson produces both physical and metaphysical impressions of the landscape and the natural world that mine the interrelated qualities of nature and language.

In accordance with the 2G rule, admission will only be permitted with proof of vaccination or recovery. Please note that medical-grade facemasks covering your nose and mouth are required and must be worn at all times while in the gallery.