In six decades Mr. Hinman has proven to be a steadfast and visionary artist who has influenced generations of artists. His unique hard-edge shaped minimal canvases have evolved and with this his first six decade look we see how seamlessly he has hued to an identifiable and personal language. The earliest work we include is a seminal painting from 1964 and the latest works are from 2013.

Hinman builds his works by constructing reverse ribs which provide contours to his paintings. By wrapping his canvases over these underpinnings, he adds a third dimension. Furthermore, the contours of these canvases often use colors that do not always match the contours of the construction. Thus a blue edge can come close to, but not parallel a straight edge of white complicating our visual understanding of where one shape ends and another begins. Thus his investigations in space and perception is an artistic simile to Einstein’s fourth dimension. And the color relationships are as considered as those of his fellow hard-edge minimalist, Ellsworth Kelly. Perhaps though it is Barnett Newman whom Hinman looked to in an attempt to move visual space beyond the boundary of the staid canvas.

Hinman’s work first garnered attention in 1964 with his inclusion in Seven New Artists at Sidney Janis Gallery. That same year he joined the roster of Richard Feigen Gallery and his works found permanent homes at MoMA, the Albright-Knox Gallery, and the Rockefeller Collection. In 1965 he was included in the landmark exhibition at The Whitney, Young America and was soon after included in Shape and Structure at Tibor de Nagy alongside Donald Judd, Robert Morris, Carl Andre and Larry Bell. In the years since he has been included in numerous museum exhibitions including at the Everson Museum and the Butler Institute of American Art. He is a repeat recipient of The Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant and is a 2012 Guggenheim Fellow.

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