Simon Hitchens trained in sculpture at West Surrey College of Art and Design and Bristol Polytechnic where he received his BA (Hons) in 1990. He worked in stone until 2000 when he moved on to glass and resin. His work has caused considerable note in artistic circles and he has been invited to exhibit in major museums and galleries across Europe including: The Royal Academy, Peggy Guggenheim Museum, Venice, The Barbican Centre and the Royal Festival Hall. Among the most recent and prestigious exhibitions to have included Hitchens' sculptures are 'Thinking Big: Concepts for 21st Century Sculpture' and 'Defining the Times' in Milton Keynes. As well as the public and commercial art world, Hitchens' talents have been recognised by Anish Kapoor, Turner Prize Winner and one of Britain's leading artists who has employed him as Chief Stone Carver on his ambitious projects for almost ten years.

Simon Hitchens is an Elected Fellow of the Royal Society of British Sculptors. He is the winner of the 2003 Millfield School Sculpture Competition and recent commissions for public sculptures include: 100 Brompton Road, Knightsbridge, London (2003), Rubus Court, Bracknell (2001), Conquest Hospital, Hastings (1999). Hitchens' work has received positive critical response in publications from Frieze to Art Review, The Times and The Financial Times.

Simon Hitchens represents the fourth generation of artists in his family. His father (John Hitchens) and grandfather (Ivon Hitchens) are well-known British painters. Although proud of his artistic heritage, Simon breaks away from family tradition by working in 3D. Highly polished, carved so as to look like they are machine-made, Hitchens' sculptures have a serenity and spirituality about them that draws the viewer right inside the work - a place where the only contemplation is life's 'big picture'.

'My forms are concerned with magnetism, presence, a solemnity of character and simplicity of shape. I aim to create sculptures which refresh and uplift the spirit by appealing, through sight and touch, directly to our emotional understanding of the world.'
Simon Hitchens


Publications

'Modern British Sculpture'
by Guy Portelli, 2004

'Thinking Big'
published by Sculpture at Goodwood, 2002

'The Art of Prior's School'
published by Bohun Gallery, 2002