Rob DuToit’s Off-Kilter, Modernist Workspace
Painting in the shadow of Fritz Bultman
BY ANDRE VAN DER WENDE DEC 15, 2021
THE PROVINCETOWN INDEPENDENT
Obscured by trees, Rob DuToit’s Provincetown studio is easy to miss. Approached from the side, it appears as an innocuous whitewashed structure with a single door. But the odd angle of the roof indicates something out of the ordinary.
Designed by sculptor and architect Tony Smith in 1945, the studio belonged to the artist Fritz Bultman until his death in 1985. None of the walls are perpendicular to the floor — fine for a sculptor, perhaps, but problematic for a painter who wants to hang his work.
“It’s a little different,” says DuToit, who has installed false interior walls to solve the problem. He has occupied the space, which he rents from Fritz’s son, Johann, since 1988. It’s long enough to claim dominion, though he sometimes still feels like a guest.
Rob DuToit takes a pause in his studio. (Photos André van der Wende)
