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A painting of a small monkey with a white face and olive-green fur. It perches on a landscape of crumpled white and blue fabric against a dark, textured background.

Really unreal: The compelling compositions and strange symbolism of Eckart Hahn's paintings

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Date
9 July 2012

Hyping up a perfect painting to the point of abstraction, Eckart Hahns has realistically unreal down to a tee. On one easy level, we can appreciate the extraordinary ability it takes to paint the tangible quality of folding fabric and (what appears to be) cascading, coloured plastics – painted to such vivid, dimensional effect. Simultaneously, Eckart affords us plenty to read into with deliberate hints at familiar, old-master motifs and symbolic compositions, albeit with what appears to be strategically arranged carrier bags, duvets, a white pony and a monkey.

A black dog with yellow eyes sits beside a large, maroon plinth. On top of the plinth is a sculpture of a green, crumpled jacket with white voids where the head and hands should be.
Above

Eckart Hahn: Statue, 2011

A cat and a hawk perch atop two tall, crumpled pillars of glossy plastic. The cat sits on a red pillar and the hawk on a blue one, set against a bright yellow background with a white circle between them.
Above

Eckart Hahn: Two Towers, 2012

A painting of a black cat with glowing yellow eyes peering through tall, glossy green foliage. The leaves have a smooth, plastic-like texture and cast deep shadows against a pale background.
Above

Eckart Hahn: Dschungel, 2011

A painting of a small monkey perched on a pile of crumpled white fabric. Behind them, a white horse peers through a gap in heavy, dark grey curtains.
Above

Eckart Hahn: Alb, 2012 (detail)

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About the Author

Bryony Quinn

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Bryony was It’s Nice That’s first ever intern and worked her way up to assistant online editor before moving on to pursue other interests in the summer of 2012.

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