Artist Statement:
DRAWING A DIVERSION catalogue text :-
Chris Hipkiss' absorbing drawings habitually consist of grandly organised Utopias, featuring rows of identical, often multi-limbed androgynes populating mechanical or agricultural surroundings. A hive ofindustry, Hipkiss' synchronised marionettes are coupled with anomalous phrases or text banners that suggest together a language whose translation would only be realisable in the context of this other, imagined world. Often labelled as an Outsider artist, Hipkiss makes drawings that are wholly personal and defiantly enigmatic, and for this they are all the more fascinating.
British artist Hipkiss was born in London and now lives and works in rural France. He has exhibited widely in the Europe and America, however this is his first show in London since 2006.
Bibliography:
Laurent Danchin (2006), Art brut; L'instinct créateur, Gallimard, France
Whitechapel Gallery (2006), Inner Worlds Outside, Madrid, Fundación La Caixa; Irish Museum of Modern Art; Whitechapel Gallery, London
McColl Center for Visual Arts (2005), Contemporary Landscapes... Crossing Boundaries, Charlotte, NC
Monika Kinley (2005), Monika's Story: A Personal History of the Musgrave Kinley Outsider Collection, Musgrave Kinley Outsider Trust [note: the biography of Hipkiss included in this work is factually incorrect and very misleading in its omissions.]
John Maizels, (2004), Raw Vision, London, Mexico Gallery and Raw Vision
Soussan,C, (2003), 'Chris Hipkiss', Artension, No. 12, 39-41
England & Co. (2001), Obsessive Visions, London: England and Co.
Gallien,A, Lusardy,M, Pons,L (2001)Noir sur Blanc: Mondes Intérieurs, Travioles/Halle St. Pierre, Paris Martine Lusardy/Halle St. Pierre
England and Co. (2000), Chris Hipkiss: Visionary Drawings, London: England and Co.
Umberger, L (2000), Mercury Springtime: Drawings by Chris Hipkiss, Wisconsin: John Michael Kohler Arts Centre,
Freuh, J, Fierstein, L and Stein, J eds. (2000), Picturing the Modern Amazon, New York: Rizzoli 11 and 58.
Manley, R. et al (1998), 'Chris Hipkiss' in: The End is Near!, Los Angeles: Dilettante Press. 92-94.
Marshall, C (1998), Art Unsolved at the Irish Museum of Modern Art, London: Lund Humphries.
Ferens Art Gallery (1997), History - the Mag Collection, Hull: FAG
Yao, J. (1996), In Pursuit of the Invisible: from the collection of Mickey and Janis Cartin, Mass.: Hard Press 43.
England & Co. (1996), Outsiders & Co., London: England and Co.
Mason, A (1994), 'The Visionary World of Chris Hipkiss', Raw Vision no.9, 30-33.
Press
Debailleur, H.F., Rose, S.J. (2007), 'Traits Bien', Libération, 24 March, 31-32.
Kienle, M., Jensen, J. (2006), ' Exploring The Obsession', NY Arts, March.
Russell, J.H. (2006), 'Outsiders (Art Market)', The Wall Street Journal, 14 Jan, 2.
Genocchio, B. (2006), 'The March of the Scary Amazons; A Close Reading', The New York Times Art Review, 5 Feb, 34.
Naves, M. (2006), 'Coping Mechanisms', The New York Observer, 9 Jan, 18.
Rexer, L. (2006), 'Art and Obsession', Art on Paper, May-June Vol 10, No.5, 56-63.
Sharp, J. (2006), 'Slow on the Draw', Art Review, March, Vol LXII, 82-85.
Anderson, B. (2005), 'Obsessive Drawing', Folk Art (Journal of the American Folk Art Museum), Vol 30, No.4, 48-49.
Cotter, H. (2005), 'The Desire to Draw, Sometimes a Compulsion', The New York Times, 16 September, E37.
Stevens, M. (2005), 'Ink-stained Wretches', New York Magazine, 26 September, 74.
Maschal, R. (2005), 'Art that holds your feet to the ice', The Charlotte Observer, 13 November.
Shuster, R. (2005), 'Visions of Order in an Anxious Universe', Village Voice, 5-11 October, 78.
.UBIK (2001), Arte, France, 16 December.
Taylor, JR (2000), 'Around the Galleries', The Times 2, 1 November, 21.
Steward, S (2000), 'Outsider dealing', The Observer Life Magazine, 29 October, 28-36.
Windsor, J (2000), 'Views from the Edge', The Independent, 25 March, 20-21.
Johnson, K (2000), 'Visionaries who portray reality from the outside in' and 'Review: Chris Hipkiss', New York Times, January 28, E35 and E37.
Long, L (2000), 'For Northwest', January, 47-48.
Art review (1999), 'Raw Visions', Art Review, June, 54-55.
Mason, B (1999), 'Coming in from the Cold', The Art Newspaper no. 90, March.
Jones, J (1999), 'Five artists to invest in', The Observer Life Magazine, 7 February, p7.
Fredericksen, E (1998), 'Drawing Lessons', The Stranger, 23 July, p.25.
Kent Messenger (1996), 'Most walls are too small for Hipkiss', East Kent Gazette and Times, 3 July, p24.
Opocensky, P (1996), 'Reportaz psana na prochazce 11', Atelier (Journal of Contemporary Art), 5/29 February, 1.
Windsor, J (1995), 'The Outed Outsiders', The Independent, 1 May.
Grants/Awards
2001 The Pollock-Krasner Foundation Inc.
