California Garden 2018

Editor: We’re looking at David Michael Hinnebusch’s “California Garden,” created in 2018, employing a variety of materials including mixed media and acrylic paint. It has a chaotic feel; there's so much happening on the canvas with what looks like figures and vibrant color. What strikes you most about this work? Curator: It’s the re-use of materials that grabs me immediately. The inclusion of CDs – obsolete technology – as a physical part of the canvas speaks volumes. It isn't just paint on a surface; it's a layered assemblage, drawing attention to material consumption and how we assign value to objects. Notice how they disrupt the illusion of the painted surface. How do you think the choice of these materials connects with the title "California Garden?" Editor: Perhaps it is hinting at a disrupted, artificial Eden? Like a garden overgrown with the waste of consumer culture? Curator: Exactly. We might even consider the labor involved in gathering and applying these materials, shifting focus from the artist's individual genius to a broader social context of production and waste. Does this influence how you view the erotic figures he includes? Editor: I hadn’t thought of it that way before, but it does. It brings another layer, questioning the commodification of bodies and pleasure, echoing the excess inherent in the materials themselves. This wasn't just aesthetic expression, it was also an inquiry into material excess and societal values. Curator: Precisely. And hopefully highlights the labor, material, and production contexts to question assumptions we have about painting today.