Peter Hide
Encyclopedia
Peter Hide is an English
born abstract
sculptor
. A one-time pupil of Sir Anthony Caro
, Hide is best known for upright, large-scale welded sculptures made of heavy, rusted industrial scrap steel.
Peter Hide works in the Modernist assembled sculpture tradition begun by Pablo Picasso
and continued by David Smith
and Anthony Caro
, but with an emphasis on weight and pressure unlike his artistic forebears. Like his mentor Caro, Hide's sculptures forsake the plinth
, but against Caro's open weightlessness, Hide reclaims mass and the monolith, connecting his work to inspirational sources in Auguste Rodin
and Brâncuşi. "I think a lot of sculptors," Hide says, "especially those who were taught by Tony Caro, decided deliberately to move as far away as possible so as not to be seen as his disciples. The problem is that if you do that you move away from extremely fertile territory.
After studying with Caro at St. Martins School of Art, and working part-time for him as an assistant, Hide set up studio at Stockwell Depot in 1967, where he went on to organize a series of important exhibitions throughout the 70s, sponsored by the Arts Council of Great Britain. From 1971-78, Hide taught sculpture at St. Martins. Accepting a position at the University of Alberta in 1977, Hide decided to move far from the London art scene, to the frontier Canadian prairie city of Edmonton, giving him the freedom to develop his work on his own terms.
In 1998, the Edmonton Art Gallery held a 25-year retrospective of his work, "Peter Hide in Context", and in 2008, the North Edmonton Sculpture Workshop organized a special exhibition of five large works by Hide on the sculpture terrace at the Royal Alberta Museum
, "Peter Hide @ The RAM".
Hide currently makes his home in Edmonton, Alberta, where he is married to painter Hilary Prince, and teaches as Professor and Head of the Sculpture Department at the University of Alberta
. Peter Hide's art is represented in many important private and public collections throughout North America
and Europe
, including London's Tate Gallery
. Some of Hide's students from the University of Alberta have gone on to work in the medium of welded
steel sculpture with a 21st century post-postmodernist aesthetic sensibility. These artists include Andrew French
, Linda Maines, Ryan McCourt, Royden Mills
, Rob Willms, and Tanya Wood.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
born abstract
Abstract art
Abstract art uses a visual language of form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th century, underpinned by the logic of perspective and an...
sculptor
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
. A one-time pupil of Sir Anthony Caro
Anthony Caro
Sir Anthony Alfred Caro, OM, CBE is an English abstract sculptor whose work is characterised by assemblages of metal using 'found' industrial objects.-Background and early life:...
, Hide is best known for upright, large-scale welded sculptures made of heavy, rusted industrial scrap steel.
Peter Hide works in the Modernist assembled sculpture tradition begun by Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso known as Pablo Ruiz Picasso was a Spanish expatriate painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer, one of the greatest and most influential artists of the...
and continued by David Smith
David Smith (sculptor)
David Roland Smith was an American Abstract Expressionist sculptor and painter, best known for creating large steel abstract geometric sculptures.-Biography:...
and Anthony Caro
Anthony Caro
Sir Anthony Alfred Caro, OM, CBE is an English abstract sculptor whose work is characterised by assemblages of metal using 'found' industrial objects.-Background and early life:...
, but with an emphasis on weight and pressure unlike his artistic forebears. Like his mentor Caro, Hide's sculptures forsake the plinth
Plinth
In architecture, a plinth is the base or platform upon which a column, pedestal, statue, monument or structure rests. Gottfried Semper's The Four Elements of Architecture posited that the plinth, the hearth, the roof, and the wall make up all of architectural theory. The plinth usually rests...
, but against Caro's open weightlessness, Hide reclaims mass and the monolith, connecting his work to inspirational sources in Auguste Rodin
Auguste Rodin
François-Auguste-René Rodin , known as Auguste Rodin , was a French sculptor. Although Rodin is generally considered the progenitor of modern sculpture, he did not set out to rebel against the past...
and Brâncuşi. "I think a lot of sculptors," Hide says, "especially those who were taught by Tony Caro, decided deliberately to move as far away as possible so as not to be seen as his disciples. The problem is that if you do that you move away from extremely fertile territory.
After studying with Caro at St. Martins School of Art, and working part-time for him as an assistant, Hide set up studio at Stockwell Depot in 1967, where he went on to organize a series of important exhibitions throughout the 70s, sponsored by the Arts Council of Great Britain. From 1971-78, Hide taught sculpture at St. Martins. Accepting a position at the University of Alberta in 1977, Hide decided to move far from the London art scene, to the frontier Canadian prairie city of Edmonton, giving him the freedom to develop his work on his own terms.
In 1998, the Edmonton Art Gallery held a 25-year retrospective of his work, "Peter Hide in Context", and in 2008, the North Edmonton Sculpture Workshop organized a special exhibition of five large works by Hide on the sculpture terrace at the Royal Alberta Museum
Royal Alberta Museum
The Royal Alberta Museum is located in Edmonton, Alberta and was named the Provincial Museum of Alberta until 24 May 2005 when Queen Elizabeth II visited, bestowing royal patronage. It has a natural history exhibit, a wildlife exhibit, an entomology exhibit, a Native Culture exhibit, as well as...
, "Peter Hide @ The RAM".
Hide currently makes his home in Edmonton, Alberta, where he is married to painter Hilary Prince, and teaches as Professor and Head of the Sculpture Department at the University of Alberta
University of Alberta
The University of Alberta is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta and Henry Marshall Tory, its first president, it is widely recognized as one of the best universities in Canada...
. Peter Hide's art is represented in many important private and public collections throughout North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, including London's Tate Gallery
Tate Gallery
The Tate is an institution that houses the United Kingdom's national collection of British Art, and International Modern and Contemporary Art...
. Some of Hide's students from the University of Alberta have gone on to work in the medium of welded
Welding
Welding is a fabrication or sculptural process that joins materials, usually metals or thermoplastics, by causing coalescence. This is often done by melting the workpieces and adding a filler material to form a pool of molten material that cools to become a strong joint, with pressure sometimes...
steel sculpture with a 21st century post-postmodernist aesthetic sensibility. These artists include Andrew French
Andrew French
-Biography:French was born on December 10, 1859 in Green Lake County, Wisconsin. He would become a farmer....
, Linda Maines, Ryan McCourt, Royden Mills
Royden Mills
Royden Mills is a Canadian-born sculptor and instructor.He has created sculpture that is sited internationally, in a number of places. A selection of his large-scale work can be found at State University of New York, Odette Sculpture Park , Franconia Sculpture Park...
, Rob Willms, and Tanya Wood.