United 2016

David Michael Hinnebusch made "United" with a vibrant palette and bold strokes. I imagine him building up layers, a palimpsest of colors and forms emerging through trial and error. There's an energy to this painting that pulls you in. I feel like I’m standing right next to him in the studio, watching as he flicks his wrist, leaving traces of red, yellow, and blue on the canvas. The paint looks applied in thin washes, allowing previous marks to peek through, creating a sense of depth and history. A strong black line carves out an eye-like form, grounding the composition amidst the chaos. I bet Hinnebusch was thinking about the push and pull between representation and abstraction, how to suggest figuration without fully resolving into it. The way the lines intersect and overlap reminds me of Cy Twombly’s graffiti-like scrawls combined with the raw emotion of Jean-Michel Basquiat. Painting is a conversation across time, and artists like Hinnebusch are pushing that dialogue forward. It’s a beautiful reminder that art thrives in uncertainty and open-endedness.