Bluechain 2018

Eckart Hahn made this painting, Bluechain, and it’s hard to pin down when exactly, but the way it’s painted feels so present. The chain, rendered in this uncanny blue, isn't just sitting there; it's got this tangible weight. It’s smooth, but each link seems soft, almost like you could sink your fingers into it. Then you get to that bright yellow orb resting on top. The texture is so smooth and luminous it looks like a cartoon sun. Hahn’s use of color and contrast almost feels borrowed from Neo-Pop, but there’s this almost surreal, unsettling quality to it too. Look at the way the chain loops and droops on the ground – there's a deliberateness to each curve and shadow. It reminds me of Magritte, not because of the imagery, but because of the unsettling juxtaposition of things. Hahn’s work, like Magritte’s, lets us see familiar objects anew.