H. Craig Hanna (born 1967) is an American figurative painter living in Paris.Peintures et Dessins de H. Craig Hanna à l’Orangerie du Sénat (Paintings and Drawings by H. Craig Hanna at the Orangerie du Sénat) Arte Media, 16 July 2010: "...Nous aimons l’idée d’associer des œuvres peintes à un travail plus photographique, de présenter des techniques anciennes à une technique beaucoup plus moderne. Les portraits de H. Craig Hanna sont si bouleversants que les agrandir nous permet de les voir autrement, détaillés laissant ainsi l’émotion nous submerger. Des portraits monumentaux.-- LEG Team ("We like the idea of associating painted works with a work more photographic, to present ancient techniques to a much more modern technique. The Portraits of H. Craig Hanna are so overwhelming that enlarging them allows us to see them otherwise, the details allowing emotion to submerge us. Monumental portraits.")"Les carnets de dessins de H. Craig Hanna" ("The sketchbooks of H. Craig Hanna"), Le Monde, 5 October 2009, "...Première monographie consacrée à H. Craig Hanna, la Laurence Esnol Gallery rassemble dessins, croquis et textes de l'artiste issus de ses "sketch books" sur une période de plus de dix ans." ("First solo exhibition devoted to H. Craig Hanna, the Laurence Esnol Gallery brings together drawings, sketches and texts by the artist from his "sketch books" over a period of more than ten years....") Accessed June 11, 2014,

The National Museum of History and Art (MNHA) Luxembourg, which hosted an exhibition of his work in 2016, said: "He reinterprets the history of European painting through the eyes of a master draughtsman and the unique viewpoint of an artist of his time by developing his very own technique (painting on Plexiglas) featuring striking colour effects and compositions."

In addition to Paris, he has lived and worked in New York, London and Malta."Right Outside my Window", The Malta Independent, 23 April 2006, Accessed June 11, 2014

Early life and education

H. Craig Hanna was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1967. He has been drawing since his childhood. He earned his BFA from Syracuse University in 1994, and his MFA from the School of Visual Arts in 1996. He started doing figurative classical painting from life at that time. His teacher John Foot introduced him to the great masters of figurative painting, such as Rembrandt, Velasquez, Sargent and Ingres. The Metropolitan Museum of Art played an important role in Hanna's artistic education.H. Craig Hanna, interview Dooboomgeishart, 2008

In 1998, Bergdorf Goodman held Hanna's first solo show in New York.H. Craig Hanna exhibition at the Martini Gallery, Hong Kong, South China Morning Post, 11 November 2002 Since, he has had shows in London, Hong KongAmalia Johnson Contemporary, and Malta.

Shortlisted in 2001BP Portrait Award 2001, on the website of the National Portrait Gallery and 2006BP Portrait Award 2006, Hermes and George by H. Craig Hanna, on the website of the National Portrait Gallery for the National Portrait Gallery Portrait Award, he was rewarded in 2001 for his work Carlos Sitting on a Clear Plastic Chair.

After his first Parisian exhibition in June 2008, he chose to settle in Paris. In September 2008, Laurence Esnol Gallery opened to solely represent Hanna's works.Alexandre Crochet, "Laurence Esnol, L'obsession Craig Hanna" , Le Figaro Magazine, 2010

Art

Hanna's work continues in the tradition of Ancient Masters. His choices in terms of framing, color, composition and model root him in his time and century. His influences range from classical western painting (Titian, Rembrandt, Velasquez) to masters of the 19th century (Sargent, Whistler) and the 20th century (Klimt, Schiele, Lucian Freud). Ancient Greek sculpture is also a major source of inspiration.

His portraits convey a strong human dimension, with particular emphasis on the subject's vulnerability, mitigated by a sense of benevolence. Hanna often chooses his models according to their distinctive intensity. Each portrait is hence an expression of the model's singularity.H. Craig Hanna - "Peintures et Dessins"': "...As a figurative painter I'm quite obsessed with faces. I love painting people's faces. It's amazing how every single face is different in so many ways."

Hanna's technical mastery expresses itself in many ways, from oil paint on wood or canvas to works on paper (oil pastel, pencil, charcoal). The use of reverse plexiglas paint was a breakthrough in his work. Experimenting with the possibilities of this technique, playing with the effects of depth and transparency for instance, enabled him to explore new artistic paths.

Journalist and art critic Christopher Mooney describes his work:

"While antecedents are visible in HANNA's pictures, in both their contents and surfaces (...) Hanna pushes past these to create vital works that are brashly contemporary and unmistakably his own. He does so by eschewing, even sabotaging, the strategies of most contemporary figurative painting: he chooses his subjects from 'life' instead of photographs; he roots his formal concerns—line, color, brushstroke, scale—in painterly traditions; and, borrowing a forgotten form of outsider 'folk' art—fixé sous verre in French, Hinterglasmalerei in German, 'reverse-painting' in English —he inverts the usual process of painting by doing it backwards, on Plexiglas."https://www.hcraighanna.org/press

Recognition and honors

In 2001, Hanna was commended in the London National Portrait Gallery contest for his painting Carlos Sitting in a Clear Plastic Chair.

His work was exhibited at the Orangerie du Sénat in Paris in 2010Peintures et dessins de H. Craig Hanna à l'Orangerie du Sénat , artéMédia and the National Fine Art Museum in Malta in 2006.

Hanna's Arrangement of Dancers was acquired by the MNHA in 2015. The museum held a retrospective of his work in March 2016.

Exhibitions

March–June 2016: H. Craig HANNA, Peintures et Dessins, MNHA, Luxembourg February–April 2014: Landscapes, Laurence Esnol Gallery, Paris January 2012: BRAFA 2012, Brussels, Laurence Esnol Gallery November 2011: St’Art, Strasburg, Laurence Esnol Gallery October 2011: SHOW Off, Paris, Laurence Esnol Gallery May 2011: Art by Genève, Geneva, Laurence Esnol Gallery January 2011: BRAFA 2011, Brussels, Laurence Esnol Gallery November 2010: St’Art, Strasburg, Laurence Esnol Gallery October 2010: SHOW Off, Paris, Laurence Esnol Gallery August 2010: Orangerie du Sénat, Sénat, Paris, Laurence Esnol Gallery April 2010: Lille Art Fair, Lille, Laurence Esnol Gallery March 2010: Chic Dessin, Paris, Laurence Esnol Gallery March 2010: Pavillon des Arts et du Design, Paris, Laurence Esnol Gallery December 2009: St’Art, Strasburg, Laurence Esnol Gallery November 2009: Art en Capitale, Paris, Laurence Esnol Gallery September 2009: Salon des Collectionneurs, Paris, Laurence Esnol Gallery June 2009: Scope Art Basel, Basel, Laurence Esnol Gallery March 200: Art Paris 09, Paris, Laurence Esnol Gallery April 2008: SLICK Dessin, Paris, Cynthia Corbett Gallery March 2008: SOBO GALLERY, solo show, Cynthia Corbett GalleryCynthia Corbett Gallery London Bermondsey Street March 2008: Red Dot, Cynthia Corbett Gallery, New York February 2008: Nouveauté Gallery, Habitat, solo show, Kings Road, London August 2007: Cuccumio Gallery, solo show, Sardinia March 2007: Blenhiem Gallery, Three Yellows, solo show, Notting Hill, London June 2006: National Portrait Gallery BP Portrait Award, London April 2006: National Museum of Fine Arts, solo show, Malta September 2002: Westbourne Studios, Gimme Five group show, London June 2001: National Portrait Gallery BP, Portrait Award, London June 2001: The Brick House Gallery, solo show, Brick Lan, London September 2000: The Oxo Gallery, group show, London February 2000: Galerie Martini, solo show, Wellington Street, Hong Kong December 1999: Blains Fine Art, group show, Bruton Street, London November 1999: Groucho Club, solo show, Dean Street, London July 1998: Lehman Sann Gallery, group show, Broadway, New York June 1998: Gallery At Bergdorf Goodman, solo show, Fifth Avenue, New York May 1997: Belgrade Gallery, solo show, Wooster Street, New York February 1997: Space Gallery, solo show, Broadway, New York March 1996: School of Visual Art Degree Show, New York

Bibliography H. Craig Hanna, Peintures et Dessins, co-published by Editions Michèle and Laurence Esnol Gallery Sketchbook by H. Craig Hanna, co-published by Somogy Éditions d'Art and Laurence Esnol Gallery

References

External links