Hannah Kline

Artist Statement

Fantasy is an important space that I cultivate in my paintings, using color schemes that heighten and shed light on the invented aspect. Crafting a separate space from reality strengthens analogies to the experiences and perceptions of life. Painting an imagined space allows me to notice and forge new relationships to my own dynamic reality. The escapist therapy of painting reveals itself as whimsical and alien forms and landscapes.

My practice pushes to establish new visual connections and relationships that may not abide by conventions of physicalist hierarchies. In addition to sewing my own screen printed and hand-dyed fabrics into canvas, I reference fashion photography, drapery, and clothing for the majority of the painted composition.

By engaging clothing and textiles, both as a subject and as a physical material in my work, I investigate my personal relationship to the garment and fashion industry. Flora and fauna also show up in my work through fragments, increasing the presence of bodily forms and life.