Paul Hartel

Amsterdam Whitney Gallery Review

PAUL HARTEL

 

“HERALDING the RESPLEDENT”                       DECEMBER 12, 2018 - JANUARY 22, 2019

 

 Willem De Kooning declared: “What you do when you paint, you take a brush full of paint, get paint on the picture, and you have faith.”  Inspired by this credo, Ireland-based Paul Hartel creates abstract compositions which are infused with the purity of the moment as he paints a playful sense of freedom and an energetic vibrancy. Celebrating the inner sprit, Hartel’s undulating forms are rhythmically improvisational and stylistically energetic. With both a rawness and sense of urgency, his abstracted mixed media compositions boast vivacity and exuberance through a saturated color palette and bold paint applications. Capturing the true spontaneity of human existence, Hartel’s paintings are thoroughly original, balancing a firmly grounded artistic technique with a feeling of improvisation.

 

Drawing inspiration from de Kooning and Kandinsky, his compositions and textures work organically while maintaining visual immediacy. With a sharp eye for configuration of elements and a strong artistic intuition, Hartel uses any method of paint application that works in that moment. Experimenting with abstract and neo-Expressionist influences, he occasionally adds charcoal along with a variety of tools and techniques to apply his mediums, including pouring, scraping, and his fingers. Yielding veracity that would otherwise be lost in hesitation, Hartel’s compositions parallel the fluidity and excitement of life.

 

Striving to immediately captivate the viewer, Hartel’s paintings serve as a bridge between fantasy and reality as swirling abstractions challenge our thoughts and senses. Exploring figurative and landscape subjects within his abstracted style, Hartel’s bright and dark shades jostle against each other with a kaleidoscopic intensity, keeping the viewer’s eye in constant motion. 

 

Hartel’s work simply jumps at the viewer, drawing them into a world of joy and freedom, making it hard to not want more of his beautiful work. Internationally showcased in both public and private collections, Paul Hartel's work has been exhibited and sold throughout New York, Ireland and Europe.