John Hewitt: The Art of Every Day
31 May, 1.45pm.
For all the power and magnificence of epic, heroic art, there is nothing that speaks to the spirit like images that make the everyday world around us somehow more alive. The drawings of British artist John Hewitt are a collection of just such gems – delicate, irregular, and totally charming. As Hewitt explains to The Guardian, he began making daily drawings from everyday life in June 2013 and has since completed over 2,000 sketches. His work observes the beauty and pathos of life on an intimate scale – a decorative etched glass jar filled with small flower blossoms; the quiet buzz of a street near his home in northwest England; the stolid architecture of old brick and stone buildings nestled into their surroundings. Hewitt’s eye is both sharp and tender, catching the minutiae of mundane scenes and reflecting them with grace. Empathy permeates his work, particularly in his sketches of the homeless and their outside living spaces, where the minimalism of his lines testifies to their humanity while respecting their privacy.
31 October, 12.30pm.
Edgar Degas has been credited with saying, “Art is not what you see but what you make others see,” and Hewitt makes us see a world of infinite, tiny treasures and tragedies, all unfolding at eye-level. His love of living things – flowers, birds, dogs, people, landscapes – invites us to observe the glories of everyday life, to cherish their beauty and their transience. Like another one of my newly discovered favorite artists, London painter Doreen Fletcher, Hewitt’s attention to detail produces images of great delicacy and affection. In his frames, the world is suspended in a quiet, attentive calm – serene, joyful, poignant.
When I saw a retrospective of Fletcher’s work in a small East London gallery a few months ago I wished I could see every piece every day, and scrolling through the abundance of Hewitt’s work on Instagram gives me the same little ecstatic reflex. The images ring like tinkling prayer bells, calling the mind to points of focus, clearing the sight and the spirit. Hewitt’s drawings meditate on the world on an utterly human, humane scale – a modest, but deeply moving, daily practice of loving what’s at hand.
See Hewitt’s past work and follow his daily drawings here.
27 May, 9.30pm.
16 April, 10.30am.
20 May, 9.30pm.