gary hutton bio
gary hutton’s subversively beautiful modern work, engagement with process and 40-year career live at the intersection of interior design, high craft and fine art. hutton’s rooms have a formal, fine-living foundation layered under a modern, sculptural design language that reaches for aesthetic clarity, lushness, emotion and delight.
hutton is a son of california who grew up immersed in the classic california landscape of his grandmother’s 30-acre apple ranch, located between the santa cruz mountains and the california coast. in the early 70s, he studied fine arts and studio practice at uc davis under wayne thiebaud, robert arneson and manuel neri. their lust for materiality became central to hutton’s work, most visibly in his furniture and personal collections. next, hutton earned a degree in interior design from california college of the arts.
gary hutton's design career began in the eleanor forbes-led design department of gump's san francisco. subsequently, he moved to the showroom side of the interior design business at house of scalamandré. his first independent project was a restaurant called today’s on union square in san francisco. truly innovative, the restaurant and its design drew san francisco’s most sophisticated and glittering audiences. the project published in interior design magazine in 1979 and the design world began to take notice.
in 1980 hutton launched gary hutton design, the studio where he still practices. gary hutton furniture, which is sold in to-the-trade showrooms globally, premiered in 1984. his small, artful practice creates relevant, trendsetting interiors coveted by tastemakers in many fields and by clients in search of curated living.
hutton is often referred to as the “dean of west coast design”. client projects vary from small city apartments to multi-year new construction. the hutton studio has rare experience in evolving shelter challenges, sustainability standards, off-the-grid living, advanced entertainment systems and tech-driven security requirements.
hutton says, “i study art and design history continuously, together with the work of contemporary artists. that knowledge is present in design projects and available to every client. i used to feel that i worked out on a limb, but the culture has moved toward how i have always done things. these days, clients come for a variety of reasons, but usually, they want my unique point-of-view and value the studio’s connoisseurship as it translates into how they live. i’m intimately involved as design lead on everything the studio does.”
hutton maintains a sculpture practice, which is visible in his furniture collections. he is a vintage car enthusiast and passionate cook.
publications
art house: the collaboration of chara schreyer and gary hutton, (with alisa carroll). new york: assouline, c2016. isbn 1614285365 isbn 978-1614285366 the book reprinted in 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2022.
licensed designs
therien & company—stasis collection
collections and exhibitions
2021 san francisco museum of craft and design—encoded holidays: gary hutton x tom bonauro
2008 san francisco museum of craft and design—new west coast design: contemporary objects
2006 western interiors—home show
1994 capp street project and santa monica museum of art—old glory new story
1985 triton museum of art—new furnishings
awards
2022 san francisco museum of craft and design art for all-mirror ball—honoree
2020 san francisco design center designers of distinction
2019 phaidon — interiors: the greatest rooms of the century
2019 luxe magazine—gold list
2018 luxe magazine —red awards
2016 interior design—best of year awards
2010 california home + design award—best residential interior design
2008 independent furniture design—people’s choice award
2006 interior design—best of year awards
2002 out magazine—vox style and design award
boards
2017-2019 san francisco museum of craft and design1999-2001 new leaf san francisco
1987-1990 san francisco museum of modern art—architecture and design acquisitions
1989-1994 diffa san francisco