Tanya Hansen
Artist Statement

My paintings are largely autobiographical, an acute observation of the constant transformation of everything that enters my life. The bridge linking life and art is the surface I work upon in graphic design. By immersing myself in it, I go beyond myself, and become increasingly free. I use it to investigate, explore, manipulate and ultimately celebrate the way in which we see, in which we perceive things. This becomes a valuable exchange, a window between two worlds — an inner one and an outer one.
Painting, like and life itself, is a journey. I visualize what I want to achieve yet without the knowledge of how I am going to reach my destination. My satisfaction results not from my successful arrival, but from the discoveries and inventions I encounter en route.
My journey begins with feeling, then thought. Shape and color follow with the harmony between texture and gesture being my obsession. As I symbolically gather the pieces of the puzzle, my main interest, my subject is the light, the subtle equilibrium between light and shadow. The complex interaction between memories and the idea of memory is my theme. What is interesting is what is timeless, neither a reflection of the current day not the nostalgia of the past but that which endures. The ordinary becomes extraordinary.
All the means are at my disposal to attain my purpose. I splash, drip, finger with using «dry brush» technique, plastic wrapped style and texture painting by applying the molding paste. The combination of painterly, conceptual, and poetic maneuvering is what shapes my process. The sensual buildup of paint layer upon layer, a dense application of paint, a smooth surface just a posed with impasto or textured creates a sense of depth. The sensual detailing of the surface while remaining figurative reflects my own assertion that I am interested in what we dont see when we try to focus on what we do see.
Each painting is unique just as each viewers experience of it is unique. African motives, human emotions, animals, trees, minimalist in nature and undiscovered realms still compositions emphasize the relation between the individual and the collective dimension in the sense that the work stands as both a subjective testament in the space of recollection and a public memory in the contemporary setting. It all represents a diary in images. I propose. I do not impose.
Enjoy