The signal 1995

Hanno Karlhuber made this painting, "The signal," probably in a studio somewhere, and sometime in the late 20th century. The painting is so striking, all these blues and purples, with a flat horizon line and then a few pops of color like the signal. I can just imagine him making it. Maybe he started with the railway tracks coming right at us, like a perspective exercise, and then he layered the atmosphere over it. It is so evocative and eerie. The cool colors make the painting melancholic, maybe a little sad. Look at the tracks themselves—the details and the way they recede into the distance. And the sky, this strange mix of sunset colors and cloud cover. I keep wondering what's at the end of that line? What was Karlhuber thinking? Maybe it’s about waiting, or about the anticipation of something coming, or not. We can all relate to that. Painting is like a conversation. We’re always talking to other artists, to each other, across time, inspiring each other.