Perfect Imperfections: Nick Hutchings’ New Exhibition

Ari Graham

Professor Nick Hutchings, Chair of the Visual and Performing Arts Department, kicked off the showcase of his latest work,“Known, Unknown” on Sept. 17, in the Delaplaine Fine Art Center. The exhibition was open to students and faculty, offering an inside look into Hutchings’ artistic process. His work explored themes of human brokenness and the infinitethrough a wide variety of mediums, including wood, plaster, tar, paper star fields and ceramics.

His overarching goal is to invite viewers to reflect on their own place in the universe.

Noting the similarity between creation and prayer, Hutchings described his approach to bringing his work to life. “It’s wrestling with my faith and trying to find connection between my own humanity and brokenness therein: that of the Divine which is deeply personal thus known, but infinitely unknown,” he stated.

Hutchings’ work represents a way to exist beyond the limitations of language and physical barriers. To bring the concept of space and all its vastness to life, he meticulously pierced holes through tar paper, allowing light behind it to emerge and create a field of stars. Each starfield represented a specific location in the universe and ultimately established a relationship between human existence and the vastness of creation.

On his piece he said, “Honestly, I want people to be present and aware of their own presence and potentially their own place in the world, in the universe,” Hutchings expressed.

Professor Ed Egan, Associate Director of Foreign Studies, highlighted that the exhibit was valuable for students not only because it reflected a connection with the Divine, but also because it demonstrated the importance of inspiration.

“Professors return to things that inspire them, and it’s not something that’s over and done with. It’s professors like Hutchings that continue to draw from that, and I think that’s part of the reason why he’s such an outstanding teacher,” Egan added.

Ava Munich (C’27), an Art and Education major, expressed her admiration for Hutchings’ teaching abilities and artistic talents. She said that the exhibition not only gave her a better understanding of him as a creator but also inspired her to pursue having a gallery of her own som eday.

Eldana Arega (C’26), a Neuroscience and Biology major, described the distinct connection she made between Hutchings’ art and the waves of the conscious mind. Art can bring the imperfections of life to the surface, and Hutching's work portrayed just that.