Peter Nicholas Hide

Hide, Peter Nicholas

  Peter Nicholas Hide, sculptor (b in Surrey, Eng 15 Dec 1944). Hide studied under British sculptor Sir Anthony Caro at St Martins School of Art, London, 1964-67, then was instrumental in establishing studios and annual exhibitions for painters and sculptors at Stockwell Depot in south London. He accepted a teaching post at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, in 1977 and has since divided his time between Canada and England, where he works during the summer. He has also worked on location in the eastern United States.

Like many sculptors today, Hide works in welded steel. He is one of the few to have broken away from the overpowering influence of Caro, whose art tends to sprawl and spread through space. Hide's art is generally compact and upright, although in the early 1990s sometimes reclined. Though fully abstract, it looks back to monolithic sculpture of the past. Composed of rhythmic folds, pleats and undulations, his works are large - often as much as 3 m high or wide - and have a commanding presence. His art is influential in Western Canada and England, can be seen in museum collections in Canada and England, and has been exhibited at commercial galleries in Edmonton, Toronto and New York.