Toby Paterson selected to create touring contemporary art commission inspired by the Hatton Gallery

Toby Paterson, Powder Blue Orthogonal Pavilion, 2008. Courtesy the artist and The Modern Institute and Toby Webster Ltd, Glasgow. Photo Richard Green.

The Hatton has announced that Toby Paterson has been selected for Hatton Showcase, a contemporary art commission to create a pavilion, or temporary architectural structure that will tour venues in Newcastle and Gateshead from spring - summer 2017.

An open call in spring 2016 invited artists to present proposals for a pavilion inspired by the Hatton Gallery collection. Catrin Huber, Toby Paterson, and collaborating duo Harriet Sutcliffe & Jack Mutton were shortlisted to develop designs for the pavilion with Newcastle-based architectural firm Harper Perry.

The shortlisted artists presented proposals in Showcase: Designs for a Touring Pavilion, an exhibition at Laing Art Gallery (continuing until 23 October 2016). A selection panel named Toby Paterson as the winning artist, who will work with Harper Perry to realise the commission.

Toby Paterson is a Glasgow-based artist whose paintings, reliefs, and sculptural installations reflect on the visual experience offered over time by the art and architecture of post-war Britain and beyond. Paterson’s previous work has responded directly to the work of Victor Pasmore; one example, Apollo (2001), superimposes the sculptural form of Pasmore’s concrete Apollo Pavilion (1969) in County Durham, over a vast wall painting.

Paterson’s proposal for the touring pavilion echoes the principles of display Pasmore and fellow artist Richard Hamilton used in seminal works such as An Exhibit (1957) and Man Machine and Motion (1955). Consequently, Paterson’s designs offer an unfolding sculptural installation through which individuals can pass as they go about their lives in the city.

Hatton Showcase is an offsite commission and programme of events that profiles the Hatton Gallery whilst it is closed for a £3.8million refurbishment, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. This project has been made possible by generous funding from the Arts Council England Catalyst Arts Fund.

Showcase: Designs for a Touring Pavilion, continues at Laing Art Gallery until 23 October 2016.

Toby Paterson, said: “I'm delighted to have been selected for the Hatton Showcase project. The chance to pursue my long held interest in the Hatton Gallery and the artists who shaped its history whilst simultaneously developing my ideas towards something tangible is most exciting, especially as my work will be a direct part of the Hatton's redevelopment. This opportunity to delve into that rich history as a way of beginning an engagement with new audiences is a tantalising one and I very much look forward to taking the results out into public space around Newcastle and Gateshead.”