Habitat 2017

Eckart Hahn made this painting called Habitat, and you know, the first thing that hits you is the thick impasto, like he troweled on the paint. The surface is built up with these greyish-white slabs of paint, kind of brutal, almost like urban decay, but then… surprise! There are these bright birds, little pops of color, perched in what looks like little windows or holes. I wonder if he put the birds in last, those little afterthoughts. I’m thinking he was sitting there one day, painting away and thought ‘this needs some life!’ I feel like so much painting is about accidents and fixing things, and just that physical act, you know, of pushing paint around. I love how the raw materiality contrasts with the delicate detail of the birds – it’s like the conversation painters have had for centuries.