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MidwestAug 2021
Hannah Klemm
View DetailsSpotlight Artist

My recent paintings investigate the structural tension between the immateriality of digital screens and the tactile reality of paint. Drawing upon 90s Japanese cel animation aesthetics, I translate flat color segmentations and dynamic forms onto monumental 78-inch canvases. My interest lies not in nostalgia, but in the absolute formal architecture of the image.
Instead of drawing outlines, I construct images through adjacent color planes, leaving subtle, unpainted gaps between them. These fissures reveal underlying colored pencil sketches and raw underpainting, breaking the graphic illusion. The execution involves a physical contradiction: approaching a massive canvas with small brushes, painstakingly adjusting each plane to seek structural inevitability.
The process begins with a calculated blueprint, but when synchronization reaches 92%, I let go, abandoning the digital reference to surrender to the material. Within the gaps and monumental scale, the narrative dissolves into pure formal tension. I strive to construct a geometric visual architecture that stands entirely on its own, inviting the viewer to experience the physical weight of the medium.
Works shared by the artist outside of their featured New American Paintings selections
























Aug 2021
Hannah Klemm
View DetailsTHE MAGAZINE

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