Twins 2018

Eckart Hahn made Twins with oil on canvas. I like to imagine how it would feel to stand in front of a blank canvas, and have to conjure an image like this, right? The yellow ground is pretty bold and bright. The mass of the beast contrasts starkly with the lone bird, and the ropes that seem to suggest some unknown system of restraint. I wonder what the artist thought when they decided to put a buffalo in this situation? The ropes are so carefully painted, and you can almost feel the coarse fibers. Hahn’s obviously got a technical proficiency and is playing with symbolism, and it is interesting how those things come together. I think it's about wanting to see things differently, which is what painters do – and that impulse is timeless. Painting is this ongoing conversation, across decades, across centuries.