Liverpool, UK – 4 November 2009: An exhibition of the work by the artist, Stephen Hitchin, has opened at the University of Liverpool’s Victoria Gallery & Museum (VG&M).
Stephen is recognised for his sculptural work in well-known Merseyside public places including Birkenhead Park Station, Liverpool Women’s Hospital, Queens Square and Calderstones Park.
The exhibition, `as long as it takes’, will feature a selection of his sculpture from the last two years alongside some preliminary drawings and photographs of working practice and recent commissions. Works from the exhibition will also be sited at various locations around the building for visitors to `discover’.
Stephen’s recent work has been concerned with both the fragility of our bodies, relationships and the passage of time. This originated, in part, from a commission undertaken for the University of Liverpool’s Cedar House: Kardia and Fields of Gold, 2008.
Although Stephen has worked with a range of materials including metals, stained glass, ceramics and bronze, his preferred material to work with is stone.
Stephen said: “I was first given the opportunity to work with stone as an art student at Liverpool Polytechnic and learnt about the material by camping, living and working at a quarry in Staffordshire. This was the beginning of what has become a lifelong relationship with both the quarry and the material.”
Matthew Clough, Director of the Victoria Gallery & Museum, said: “Stephen’s commission for us marked a new direction in his work and it seems appropriate to highlight this with an exhibition of his recent work. His sculpture is not solely shaped by his ideas but also the choice of material, and visitors can see this in the contrasting techniques and effects achieved with carved stone and polished marble.”
Stephen was born in Liverpool in 1953 and studied at Liverpool Polytechnic and then at Manchester Polytechnic. In 2000 Stephen returned to Merseyside to lead the BA Fine Art Programme at Wirral Arts School.
Stephen will be talking about his work at a lunchtime lecture for the public on Wednesday, 11 November at 1pm in Sculpture Gallery in the VG&M.
The exhibition opens to the public on Wednesday, 3 November and runs until Saturday 20 February 2010.
Admission to all galleries and exhibitions is free and the building is open Tuesday – Saturday, 10am – 5pm
Notes to editors:
The University of Liverpool is a member of the Russell Group of leading research-intensive institutions in the UK. It attracts collaborative and contract research commissions from wide range of national and international organisations valued at more than £93 million annually.