Nexus 2018

Eckhart Hahn made this painting, Nexus, with oil on canvas. I am trying to imagine the making of this artwork. Hahn must have spent hours layering the paint, slowly building up this strange image. There is the vibrant yellow background, and then this purple rope or snake! It’s all coiled up on itself, sort of like a snake about to strike. The way the rope is painted, it looks so real, you could reach out and touch it. It is like a trompe-l'oeil still life, playing tricks on the eye. I wonder what Hahn was thinking when he painted this? Was he thinking about how things can be both beautiful and dangerous at the same time? I think there is an ongoing conversation between artists across time, and Hahn is part of that too. His painting makes me think of Magritte's surreal still lifes, and I think they both were fascinated by illusion. Painting embraces ambiguity, allowing for all kinds of interpretations, so what do you see?