Housing 2017

Curator: This is "Housing" by Eckart Hahn, painted in 2017. At first glance, what comes to mind for you? Editor: My immediate response is stillness, almost unsettling quiet. It feels suspended between reality and dream—surreal but rendered with hyperreal detail. Curator: Yes, Hahn masterfully blends surrealism and realism here, creating a visual paradox. He plays with form. Notice how the arrangement of the cube, sphere, and pyramid echoes rudimentary architectural components? There is an ambiguity of these shapes: What do you see in his use of materials? Editor: Hahn uses painting techniques to mimic stoneware, earthenware or even ceramics. By layering these shapes and painting crows, it draws our eye upwards. It appears as a human intervention imposed onto a landscape; with what intentions? Curator: Perhaps to consider our construction and production efforts as a species... We create our own architecture while borrowing heavily from what already exists around us, with nature finding ways to perch in what we built. And by contrasting organic with rigid forms he opens discussion about utility of craft in a utilitarian society. How does Hahn achieve the tension in the composition? Editor: Through a studied play of light and shadow that sculpts the geometric shapes and makes the birds feel almost superimposed. Their stark blackness really pops, don't you think? They're crucial to the feeling of disquiet... Curator: Quite, and that contrast might reflect Hahn's exploration into labor practices, and to draw comparisons between our society as it is currently made. It is as if a balance hangs with each component equally participating in holding it together... Editor: In a world where structures can only hold as the components underneath hold as well. On a material level there is certainly an implied statement. A well executed comment I would say, with layers to enjoy reflecting on... Curator: Indeed. "Housing" remains an intriguing juxtaposition—one that resonates long after we've left it behind.