Maske 2018

Eckart Hahn made this painting, Maske, and what strikes me is the precision of his technique. I mean, look at the way he renders the monkey’s fur – it's unbelievably detailed, almost hyperreal. But then there's this cartoonish mask, held delicately in its hand, which is so flat and graphic. The mask seems to represent a kind of artificial emotion, in contrast to the monkey’s contemplative gaze. Is this something about the relationship between our inner selves and the faces we present to the world? I’m drawn to the tension between these two styles of representation. It’s like Hahn is playing with different levels of reality and illusion. It makes me think of Magritte, actually, with his juxtaposition of the ordinary and the absurd. What does it mean to hold a mask up to yourself? It’s a question that this painting leaves open, and that’s what makes it so compelling.