Ethan Hutchinson is a self taught artist whose creative spark was charged by an early fascination with comic books like most young boys. This escape into the world of fantasy and fiction lead to his love of sketching and drawing early in life where he often combined various mediums into one piece. Art was always a passion in his formative years, and the depth of color and detail inspired by comic book greats are very much a part of his works today.
As an adult, his love of sketching was further influenced by the wood cuts of Albercht Dürer. Ethan also became a quick study of Francis Bacon. Bacon’s bold, distorted, and sometimes raw painted images serve as great inspiration to Ethan’s approach to art. His personal desire to challenge the norm translates beautifully in each of his works. Thought provoking visuals of male faces often restricted or manipulated by some form of expected societal norm or physical barrier is the cornerstone of Ethan’s body of work.
Each mixed media piece is created with a combination of ink, paint marker, gouache and watercolor often on found papers bringing life to something that otherwise might have been discarded or forgotten. “Creating pieces on found objects is very challenging. You have to overcome the restrictions or barriers that live on something that pre-exists.” Ethan’s pieces almost always start with a face derived from his imagination. The detail and personality found in each face is further enhanced by the bold use of color in almost every piece. Ethan’s has been a panel artist for Chicago’s Atomic Sketch. His exhibitions have included one man shows at Scot’s and Broken Cherry. He has also contributed to many group shows including the famous Chicago Hot House. Ethan has create many album covers for many bands including Doubt and Das Kapital.
Ethan H Hutchinson 