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John Hutchens, Artist
Hand-torched dimensional copper art by John Hutchens
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Artist's Statement
My artwork is a dialogue between structured logic and unruly fire. Following a career in corporate finance, I pivoted away from complex data systems to the uncharted mysteries of metallurgical alchemy. This journey has taken me to a crossroads where the precision of my professional background encounters the realm of Kandinsky's "inner necessity." Beyond this place, there be dragons!
This new world is at once delicate and violent, a collision of chaos and control. Before the torch is fired, I neural sketch on a high-performance NVIDIA RTX workstation to simulate light, shadow, and kinetic form. Harnessing Comfy node-based workflows, I create a digital laboratory to stress-test conceptual artifacts, pushing geometries and "forbidden" colors that traditional methods rarely suggest. Then, using a zero-emission hydrogen-oxygen torch that splits water into flame, I catalyze copper’s molecular structure to arouse iridescent oxide blooms. At 5,000°F, the metal enters an excited state of high-entropic flux, where my role as an artist is to fashion order by imposing a material presence.
My goal is to evoke elemental wonder. Whether through the quiet rotation of a kinetic mobile or the dimensional relief of a wall sconce, I create objects grounded in physics yet elevated by the supernatural. By extending the refractive properties of natural crystals and dichroic glass, my work asserts that, in a digital age, the most profound beauty is still unearthed through the ancient, haptic struggle of hand, heat, light, and metal.
