Grace Hager

Lives and works in Portland, ME, USA

Artist statement

My work locates the natural world as a realm of possibility: a source of transformative encounters that generate awe, positioning the magical within the observable world. Raised in a family of scientists, I inherited a practice of reverently observing the natural world and its inhabitants. Continuing in a tradition of Romantic landscape painting, my paintings and ceramics capture and recreate moments in nature where empirical, fantastical, and emotional worlds begin to intermingle. In the face of increased disconnection and isolation, the landscape offers an experience of connection even for the solitary — simultaneously generating contemplation of inner worlds and an expanded awareness of the interconnected universe. Trees, the sun and moon, animals, and other natural elements act as both proxy for and companion to the viewer. My often-solitary subjects echo the Rükenfigur, a singular figure situated within the natural landscape onto which the viewer may project. In works without figures, the viewer becomes the figure, standing witness to a sublime environment or event. Observable during the sunrise and sunset, the natural order of rainbow wavelengths within visible light inspires my use of vibrant color that charges my subjects with a sense of magic. Color, as an abstract language, incorporates a multifaceted emotional experience into the observed, remembered, and imagined landscapes. Through combining spectral coloring, twinkling mark making, and natural elements...

Artwork