{"id":502185,"date":"2026-02-25T02:11:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T02:11:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/502185\/"},"modified":"2026-02-25T02:11:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T02:11:15","slug":"undulating-coasters-and-slide-complexes-loom-in-alex-huttons-paintings-colossal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/502185\/","title":{"rendered":"Undulating Coasters and Slide Complexes Loom in Alex Hutton’s Paintings \u2014 Colossal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Considering Alex Hutton<\/a>\u2019s fascination with rollercoasters and monumental waterslides, he doesn\u2019t actually ever climb aboard. \u201cHeights and the sinking feeling during free-fall bother me too much to enjoy them,\u201d he tells Colossal. In a way, that adds even further dimension to the enigmatic, unpeopled atmosphere of his meticulous oil paintings, which focus on rollercoasters, waterslides, and intricately contrived frameworks.<\/p>\n

Devoid of the cars that roll along the tracks, Hutton focuses exclusively on volume, line, and three-dimensional grids, also typically setting the undulating forms against blank or brushy backgrounds so that even their scale is disorienting. While we typically associate the rides with youthful energy and nostalgia, the structures are strangely still and stark when pared down to their pure engineering.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>\u201cWeft\u201d (2025), oil on linen, 27 x 37 inches<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is an absurdity to many theme park rides like rollercoasters and waterslides that I find compelling,\u201d Hutton tells Colossal, continuing:<\/p>\n

They present a mixture of excitement and fear. They show graceful yet imposing movement through space with curves, rhythm, and color at a striking scale. So much material, time, engineering, and maintenance goes into a short ride designed to fling people through space and create a sense of thrill and danger in a controlled environment.<\/p>\n

Hutton views these paintings as a natural offshoot of PC games he used to play in the early 2000s, such as Sim City and Rollercoaster Tycoon, where the aesthetics of world-building\u2014especially from a bird\u2019s-eye view\u2014captivated his imagination. His rollercoasters and waterslides are extensions of a practice that incorporates subjects like boardwalks, bridges, landscapes, structural framing, and even prehistoric anatomy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Many of the coasters and slides are based on real constructions. The form for \u201cFoment,\u201d for example, is based on a waterslide in Kobe, Japan, called the Super Whooper. It was demolished in 1995 following a huge earthquake. \u201cRoil\u201d comes from an existing waterpark in Qatar called Meryal, which is home to the world\u2019s largest waterslide structure. \u201cIt is hard to believe that some of these structures were ever built,\u201d Hutton says. \u201cI try to capture that absurdity and audacity of their existence.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>\u201cWarp\u201d (2025), oil on linen, 26 x 33 inches<\/p>\n

It\u2019s less important to the artist that the paintings represent recognizable places than to depict formal qualities. Movement and proportion are just a couple of things he considers when planning a composition. \u201cI look for a rhythm, a structure, a combination of colors that is exciting enough to spend time with,\u201d Hutton says. \u201cI want to find something unlikely, something reconsidered in a new light or from a new angle, but those moments can be difficult to track down.\u201d<\/p>\n

The two untitled works pictured here are bound for an exhibition at Main Projects<\/a> in Richmond, Virginia, which opens on April 30. And he\u2019s currently working toward a solo exhibition at SHRINE<\/a> in New York, slated for next year. Find more on Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>\u201cRoil\u201d (2025), oil on linen, 38 x 38 inches<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>Untitled (2026), oil on linen, 27 x 51 inches<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>\u201cFoment\u201d (2025), oil on linen, 38 x 50 inches<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>\u201cSkirt\u201d (2025), oil on linen, 28 x 26.75 inches<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>Untitled (2025), oil on linen, 24 x 52 inches<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>\u201cZip\u201d (2025), oil on linen, 30 x 27 inches<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>\u201cMouse Trap\u201d (2025), oil on linen, 23 x 38 inches<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>\u201cRidge\u201d (2025), oil on linen, 38 x 38 inches<\/p>\n

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