David Hanes

The divisions between our nations and land masses should be confined to those things which we cannot control: extremes of topography, contrasts of climate, traversable barriers of language that continued globalism, in the wake of imperialism, seeks to erode. The elements of difference that are in our control are, sadly, those which are currently being weaponised in escalating international rifts: trade and economy, overseas aid and war. At times like this, those who believe in friendlier relations between nations, which are after all mostly made up of real, unremarkable people, can be understood in feeling a little crestfallen at what the decidedly futuristic sounding year 2025 has so far brought to us.

The potential for artistic expression inspired by such a belief brings us to David Hanes’ work. Half Canadian, half American, his current base in Berlin sits at the centre of a near constant international jaunt. Relocating to Europe eleven years ago, his absorption of continental culture aligns to his North American roots, augmented with an idealisation of the globe as a connected planetary society.

Rather than starting and ending the span of their creation in the studio, his paintings echo the wayfarer of his identity. Beginning with sketches caught in a moment of inspiration whilst travelling, they are carried with him like captured thoughts to his next destination, where their incremental emergence continues. They reflect his peripatetic existence, acting as companions or talismanic witnesses to his movements.

The informal sketching process allows David to respond to moments as they are happening, a crucial point to note when some of the more enchanting articulations of life also happen to be the most fleeting. With roots in photography, punk rock and performance art, there is an expressive kinship with the rawness, directness and reactionary energy of these artforms, and their way of efficiently describing society and communicating messages on the nature of self. As the sketches are transported around the world they are subject to deepening layers of artistic application, which rest primarily on watercolour and oil paint. Much like time and processing develops a roll of film into a series of photographs, movement and the inspiration found in a new, perhaps unfamiliar place, turns David’s sketches into paintings.

The encapsulated process results in bodies of work that are rich in memory, emotion, the unique and distinct psychological paths that travel pulls the mind through. Though they may have roots in the location of their inception, the sketches are buried beneath vivid elucidations of colour and form that are imbued with inspiration from other places. As if working his overarching humanitarian philosophy into them, David says with paintings what proponents of positive cosmopolitanism say with words. Whilst being visually striking, full of charm and unpretentiously approachable, it is their spirit, easily detectable between the strokes, that elevates them.

David describes life as ‘a rare opportunity to experience the universe’. Only the most humble among us could share such a substantial comment so casually, but then there’s a touching calmness to the way which he describes what sounds like something of a calling; a duty to promote the interconnectedness of the world on both a surface level, and more profound ways. We can see this in the depiction of natural entities like trees, skies and their surrounding environments, and how somehow they, along with the human made structures that occasionally pop up, are never jostling for space or attention. They just are. Similarly, everything is vivid, and usually to a degree that first tests and then obliterates our perceptions of everyday reality.

Truly engaging with the metaphysical, David’s paintings are from a version of our universe that we only have access to in the fantastical realms of our energetic imaginations. It is here where colours can be exaggerated and hues swapped, where physical forms split open to reveal the layers of brilliance ever more immeasurable dimensions are sculpted from. We’re invited into an abstract realm where the structure and basic relationships of our world are familiar, but the rules that provide consistency and discipline to its particles are broken down.

As lofty as these more extraordinary readings sound, the work is broadly accessible, contextualised with titles that gently probe the fabrication of existence wrapped around it. This Life Feels Big, for instance, is a statement that works on the many levels the painting may meet us on: a fairly simplistic and relatable comment on the sheer scale of the world we collectively inhabit, or an insight into the depth of experience available to our species when our emotions, memories, interactions and desires are all taken into account.

David’s artistic intention allows for both of these angles, along with any variations in their orbit, such is the open nature of his work. His movements and porous connection to place creates the conditions for personal inspiration, but his goal to engage with and express the richness of life is something that is shared. In an age when the threat of disconnection and apathy feels closer and our compassion is strangled by political strife, sitting in awe at the miraculousness of everything is an empowering, reactionary tool that David encourages us to pick back up, and begin to use again.

Artist CV

Text by Daniel Mackenzie Portrait by Tamara Eckhardt