River Ways 2017

Curator: David Michael Hinnebusch’s “River Ways,” created in 2017, presents a fascinating exploration of the female form through mixed media, mainly acrylic paint. What is your immediate response? Editor: It feels like a raw, emotional scream translated onto the canvas. The scale is imposing, and the loose brushwork conveys a sense of immediacy and vulnerability, wouldn’t you agree? Curator: I would, in part. Focusing on the formal qualities, notice the striking contrast between the controlled lines that delineate the figure and the frenetic, almost chaotic brushstrokes surrounding it. This tension is central to the piece. There is a distinct hierarchy of shapes creating a focal point while leading the eyes to different layers within the artboard. Editor: The figure herself appears almost iconic. Nudes, particularly female nudes, are laden with cultural meaning. The open posture and gaze invite—or perhaps challenge—the viewer. Do you get a sense of this playing with, and possibly against, traditional portrayals? The flower emblems near the bosom also suggest beauty, resilience, fertility, or the female nature with those flower symbols on each side of the torso. Curator: Certainly. However, the artist deliberately fragments and distorts the traditional form through abstraction and heavy brushwork, disrupting any easy readings. Her figure doesn't present with smoothness, the body with more details shows only from a small color palette selection, suggesting the need for revaluation within established portraits of female nudes. Editor: I see the use of expressive colors - how it can represent freedom? Her work shares some of the raw emotion and liberation found in art that embraces that artistic message of human figure through that abstraction form. What do you consider a primary aspect in this artwork beyond technique and composition? Curator: The negotiation between chaos and control; the ability to draw a portrait yet make it feel so free form, that push and pull in structure which is the artform's strength. Editor: For me, it is more in how cultural notions of femininity are both invoked and subverted simultaneously—there is a cultural significance of reclaiming and re-contextualizing symbolism. Curator: Thank you. A rich piece open for discussion. Editor: A piece speaking volume in today’s climate!