American-born John Hubbard grew up in Connecticut and studied at Harvard University. While on military service (1953 and 1956) during the Korean War, he was stationed in Japan, where he developed an interest in the art from Japan and East Asia more generally. This grew into an admiration of the traditions of Taoism and Zen; philosophies he equated with the act of abstract painting. He has cited Xie He, the sixth century Chinese painter who wrote: ‘In art, the terms ancient and modern have no place’ – a thought that speaks clearly to the modern abstract painter’s inspiration from wide and eclectic sources.Hubbard studied in New York at the Art Students League from 1956–58. He spent time also working with Hans Hoffmann, an influential abstract painter whose associations with Picasso, Matisse and Braque in Paris in the 1930s, brought those influences to the emerging number of Abstract Expressionist artists in New York. Hubbard moved to England in 1960, settling in Dorset and associating with the St Ives art circle. His painting became infused with light, inspired by the open land and seascapes of Cornwall, Scotland and later, Morocco and Spain. Hubbard participated in residencies in America and Malaysia and, in 1996, won the Jerwood Prize in Britain. In recent years his work has explored the theme of gardens, and he has completed several garden and painting commissions for public and private organisations.
