Cherisher Cat 2020

Eckart Hahn, born in 1971, painted this image. Hahn’s ‘Cherisher Cat’ has a playful, graphic feel, featuring two birds perched within loops of rope against a flat black ground. I can imagine him thinking, "how can I bring together figuration and abstraction?" The ropes form an abstract cat’s face; the yellow loops suggesting eyes. Hahn is clearly interested in the juxtaposition of contrasting elements: the hyper-realism of the birds against the stylized flatness of the background. It reminds me of Magritte's surrealism, as well as the Pop Art sensibility of someone like James Rosenquist. Hahn’s paintings often feature animals, and I think he’s part of a bigger conversation, going back to the caves at Lascaux. He is using animals to explore something fundamental about our shared existence. I am interested in how his imagery, and his process of making paintings, allows us to see, think, and experience the world in new ways.