David Hanes: Hold On at Mott Projects

David Hanes. Installation view of Hold On, 2024. Photo courtesy of Mott Projects

By CLARE GEMIMA July 30, 2024

In the intimate, low-ceilinged space of a converted gallery in Catskill, Mott Projects recently unveiled a solo exhibition featuring five vibrant paintings by the nomadic, color-obsessed David Hanes. The works in Hold On pulsated with high-frequency hues and electrifying brushstrokes, and borrowed the essence of oversized passport stamps and travel souvenirs. Each piece reflected Hanes' diverse and dynamic globe-trotting experiences, transcended from his initially diaristic, on-the-fly drawings.

Hanes' artistic process seamlessly marries the spontaneity of fieldwork with the precision of studio refinement. His journey begins with plein-air sketches that capture ephemeral glimpses of nature. These initial impressions, gathered from various climates and locations, are later transformed into arresting, sometimes sun-filled, still, and at other times ominous and wind-swept landscapes. The artist's methodology preserves the raw immediacy of his outdoor experiences, seen explosively glorified within each canvas through rigorous and contrastingly shaded oil strokes. These re-imagined reflections transform into emotionally charged scenic paintings, recalling either a nearby journey, or the trees Hane’s walked passed in Tuscany.

Hold On, 2024. Oil on canvas. 145 x 195 cm. Can’t afford to dream, 2024. Oil on canvas. 61 x 91 cm. Photo courtesy of Mott Projects

The painter skillfully draws from Gauguin's modernist colors in pieces like Still There When I’m Gone where earthy coppers and golds suggest either cornfields or arid land, while rich-green grasses trace the contours of a sloping hillside. A charming, presumably European villa proudly perches at its top, set against a concentrated, royal blue sky. Can't Afford a Dream’s crayon-textured, grainy, and Monet-like purples poetically highlight the stillness of the scene's water and surrounding plant life during the day’s transition. It is ambiguous whether the dissolving sun is slowly waking up or sneaking off to sleep. Each painting is a study embodying light from various parts of the planet, offering an authentic portrayal of Hanes' timeless, and seasonless art practice. More chromatic concoctions, like You Win Some, You Lose Some energetically evoke David Hockney’s plein-air iPad drawings, which document the erratic changing of seasons due to global warming. These drawings, sketched in various locations from around the world, include Untitled No.14 from The Yosemite Suite, 2010, and The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate, East Yorkshire, 2011.

David Hanes. Installation view of Hold On, 2024. Photo courtesy of Mott Projects

Hanes' deliberate omission of shadows and volumetric depth in his compositions serves to magnify the elemental intensity of his subject matter, fostering a vibrant tension between abstraction and tangible reality; a flattened depiction of what he’s once seen, from wherever he may have found himself. This approach disrupts traditional techniques and invites viewers to engage viscerally, turning scenes into immersive portals ripe with triggers for personal memories and mentally journalized stories.

Hanes' work in Hold On reflects his own deep connection to nature and introspective spiritual journey. The exhibition pulsed with urgency and contemplative depth, and preserved senses of nature’s fleeting beauty. Through vividly emotive canvases, Hanes advocates for beautiful, threatened, or untouched landscapes, emphasizing the importance of capturing the transient world from as many perspectives as he possibly can. WM

You win some, you lose some. Oil on canvas. 193 x 290 cm. Photo courtesy of Mott Projects.