Louise Hibbert
biography |
portfolio | artists listing
b. 1972, Southampton, England
SELECTED COLLECTIONSAldrich Collection, University of Brighton, Brighton, England
Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2011 Inside & Outside The Box, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Turned Wood - Small Treasures, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2009 Flora & Fauna, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Selected Works, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2008 Sculpture Objects & Functional Art Exposition, Chicago, IL
2007 Turned Wood - Small Treasures, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1999-07 Sculpture Objects & Functional Art Exposition, New York, NY
2006 Hot Tea!, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2005 Collect, V&A Museum, London, England
Turned & Sculptured Wood, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Genus Australis, Craftwest, Perth, Australia
Turned Wood, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1998-05 Turned Wood - Small Treasures, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Selected Works, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2004 Celebrating Nature: Craft Traditions/Contemporary Expressions, Craft & Folk Art
Museum, Los Angeles, CA
2003 Designing Futures Artist Residency, Craftwest, Perth, Australia
Collectors of Wood Art Forum, Santa Fe, NM
2002-03 Turned Wood, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Plankton, Collaborative work with Sarah Parker-Eaton, Travelling
Craftwest Gallery, Perth, Australia
Grace Barrand Design Centre, Nutfield, Surrey, England
Crafts Council, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, England
The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland
World Conference on Phytoplankton Productivity, Bangor, England
2001-03 Challenge VI- Roots: Insights & Inspirations in Contemporary Turned Objects, Touring
Philip & Muriel Berman Museum of Art, Collegeville, PA
Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, IN
Washington State University Museum of Art, Pullman, WA
Arkansas Art Center, Little Rock, AR
Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, WI
The Schneider Museum of Art, Ashland, OR
2002 Hot Tea!, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Surface + Form, Craftwest Gallery, Perth, Australia
Colors: Materials-Contemporary Illusions, Brookfield Craft Center, Brookfield, CT
2001 Fiveways Open Houses, Brighton Festival, Brighton, England
Collectors of Wood Art Forum, Minneapolis, MN
allTURNatives, Wood Turning Center, Philadelphia, PA
Against the Grain: Turned and Sculpted Wood, International Museum of Art & Science,
McAllen, TX
International Woodturning Exchange, Wood Turning Center, Philadelphia, PA
Sculpture Objects & Functional Art Exposition, Chicago, IL
Seed Pods, Craftwest Gallery, Perth, Australia
2000 The Fine Art of Wood: the Bohlen Collection, Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
2008 New Masters of Woodturning: Expanding the Boundaries of Wood Art. Martin, Terry &
Wallace, Kevin. Fox Chapel Publishing, East Petersburg, PA.
2004 Celebrating Nature: Craft Traditions/Contemporary Expressions. Wallace, Kevin.
Craft & Folk Art Museum, Los Angeles, CA.
2003 Wood Art Today: Furniture, Vessels, Sculpture. Meilach, Dona. Schiffer Publications,
Westchester, PA.
Resin Jewelry. Murphy, Kathie. Krause Publications, Iola, WI.
2002 Crafts. Sept/Oct, No 178. "Fruits de Mer." Pp. 38-41.
Nature. August, Volume 418. "Science in Culture"
Craft Arts International. Issue 55. "Manifesting the Invisible." Wallace, Kevin. Pp 67-70.
Scratching The Surface. Hosaluk, Michael. North Light Books, Cincinnati, OH.
Ideales Heim. June. "Aus dem Nixenreich." Pp. 22.
Woodturning Magazine. January. "Fair Exchange." Pp 49-52.
2001 Turning Points. Fall. "ITE Experience 2001 – Part Two." King, Stuart. Pp 18 – 29.
Challenge VI- Roots: Insights & Inspirations In Contemporary Turned Objects. Holzapfel,
Michelle; Rice, Robin & Tyler, Christopher. Wood Turning Center,
Philadelphia, PA.
Crefft (Arts Council of Wales newsletter). March, Issue 98. Front Cover.
BBC Homes & Antiques. March. "Crafts Today." Pp 72-73.
Crefft (Arts Council of Wales newsletter). Issue 97. "Breaking Barriers."
2000 The Fine Art of Wood: The Bohlen Collection. Fike, Bonita. Abbeville Press,
New York, NY.
Woodturning Magazine. April. "Scott and Hibbert.” Pp 72-76.
1999 Contemporary Turned Wood: New Perspectives in a Rich Tradition. Leier, Ray;
Peters, Jan & Wallace, Kevin. Hand Books Press, Madison, WI.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Louise Hibbert graduated from the University of Brighton in 1994 with a degree in three-dimensional design, specializing in wood and plastics. She set up a workshop in Brighton and also on the Isle of Anglesey in 1996, where she continued to develop ideas within the field of woodturning.
Inspiration for her work comes from a wide range of visual sources, which she is constantly expanding. Her main area of interest is in the natural world, particularly simple organisms, sea life, insects and fossilized creatures, which offer a wealth of intriguing forms, textures and color combinations from which her designs evolve. Each piece is fully resolved in her sketchbook before she selects the appropriate timber and starts producing a finished piece.
Hibbert uses a wide variety of exotic and native hardwoods. In some pieces the color within the work is that of the timber, often laminated together into intricate patterns which she will then turn. In other pieces she will carve the wood after turning and use colored inks, waxes, scorching, resin or metal to create the required effects.
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
At present my work comprises a standard range of practical items and more whimsical one-of-a kind pieces. My ideas derive from an exploration of form, texture, color and symmetry. Inspiration has always been dominated by a fascination with the natural world, particularly marine life, microscopic creatures, plants and fossils, which together offer a fantastic repertoire of imagery. In the spirit of Ernst Haeckel (an artist/biologist of the 19th century) and the Art Nouveau movement, I want to use wood to transport elements of relatively inaccessible organisms to people in a visually appealing and tactile way. When designing, I reproduce and emphasize certain aspects of the decorative that these creatures possess and combine them into single pieces.
After careful planning on paper, each piece originates on the lathe and then I will often use carving, airbrushed inks, colored waxes, scorching, resin or metal to create the effects that I require. The majority of my work is made from native kiln-dried timbers. Sycamore is my favorite as it has a pale, even grain to act as a blank canvas for my design and a wonderful translucent quality that makes the colors glow.
I graduated from the University of Brighton in 1994 with a degree in 3D design, specializing in wood and plastics. I set up my workshop in Brighton and then on the Isle of Anglesey in 1996 where I am continuing to develop my ideas within the field of woodturning.
My most recent project is a collaboration with silversmith Sarah Parker-Eaton. In January 2002, at the invitation of Oceanographer David Thomas, Sarah and I visited the laboratories at the University of Wales at Bangor. By using modern microscopy we explored the movements, interactions and myriad forms displayed by planktonic organisms. Sarah and I then began to design together, sketching and discussing the various elements that appealed to us and carefully planned each object. We are now continuing to work in our separate shops, in contact by phone and the occasional brainstorming design session, realizing each design in three dimensions.