DARK IMPRESSIONS: Sculpture and Photography by Philip Hitchcock January 19, 2013

DARK IMPRESSIONS
Sculpture and Photography by Philip Hitchcock

January 19 through February 23, 2013.
Opening Reception, Saturday, January 19, 2013, from 7 to 10pm.

PHD Gallery showcases the work of gallery owner and artist Philip Hitchcock. Challenging and alluring, the life-size male erotic figures of Philip Hitchcock merge fantasy and reality to create powerful sculptural forms, evoking themes of heroism and human frailty. Focusing on mythology from different cultures, Hitchcock creates contemporary representations of historical icons whose grandeur is humanized by their corporeal sensuality. The hyper-realistic forms, which are created from multiple castings of live models, are layered and embellished with accoutrements. Of this body of work Dr. William H. Gerdts an American art historian and Professor Emeritus of Art History at the CUNY Graduate Center writes: “Hitchcock’s sculpture is really powerful stuff. His technical aesthetic is very much his own innovation. He is able to manipulate his castings through tremendously imaginative reorganization and addition of forms, through carefully selected segmentation, and through dramatic color expression, which move into a darker, intensely more private world of fear, desire, and renewal.”
Although PHD Gallery will showcase several of Hitchcock’s life-size sculptures, central to this exhibit are the limited edition photographs of select works shot by Hitchcock. Many images are plates taken from his book, Dark Impressions, The Art of Philip Hitchcock. The artist is on hand to sign copies of his book at a free public reception on Saturday, January 19, from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m.

About the Artist…

PHD Gallery owner Philip Hitchcock has challenged people with his art for over 20 years. In 2012 he had his first Chicago solo exhibition at the Leather Archives and Museum. His life-size Christ Embracing the Cross is part of the permanent collection of Saint Louis University Museum of Art (SLUMA) and he is responsible for the portrait bust of Dr. Richard Chaifetz on permanent display at The Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis. FOX TV commissioned Hitchcock to create over 20 full bodysculptures for its hit show The Swan, and The WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) retained the artist to create bodycast sculptures of its wrestling “superstars” for the Wrestlemania Fan Access show held at Toronto’s Skydome. Hitchcock’s work can be seen on the small and big screen including a local ­­­feature on Living St. Louis.

Hitchcock has garnered numerous awards and accolades for his work including the 2006 Artistic Achievement and Public Relations Award from the Association of Lifecasting International, (ALI); the 1997 Broadcast Design Award for MGM/UA’s Outer Limits limited edition sculpture, and the designation of being among “The OUT 100” in 2001, an annual list of the 100 most influential gay men and lesbians in America, according to OUT magazine. He is the author of Dark Impressions, The Art of Philip Hitchcock.

Commercially, Hitchcock has been commissioned to create work for St. Louis Pride, Inc., Central Institute for the Deaf, Disneyland’s Tomorrowland, Sony Computer Entertainment America, Inc., Delta Air Lines, and the L.A. Stage Alliance for whom he creates annually the LA Stage Ovation Award which recognizes excellence in Los Angeles theatre.

His works have been featured in solo and group exhibits and are in prestigious collections such as Leslie-Lohman Foundation, New York, NY; Saint Louis University Museum of Art (SLUMA); Mark Taper Family/Mark Taper Forum, Los Angeles, CA; Henry Jewelry, Hong Kong; Barbie Benton, Aspen, CO; Michele Rodriguez, Cagliari, Italy and Rene Hubschmid of Switzerland.

A magna cum laude graduate from UCLA, Hitchcock relocated to St. Louis in 2005. He opened PHD Gallery, in April of 2007 and has curated over 40 exhibitions featuring artworks by local regional, and national artists, including the first ever St. Louis exhibition of original Tom of Finland drawings. PHD Gallery has received critical praise from numerous media outlets including the New York Times.