Purple Art
[December 6 2024]
The last days of Duncan Hannah’s decades-spanning show “Flesh and Fantasy” at The Journal Gallery, on view until December 7th
“Flesh and Fantasy” channels a Warholian fascination with celebrity, transforming film icons into dreamlike archetypes. Emerging from the 1970s New York art scene alongside figures like Warhol, Hannah shares a preoccupation with the mechanics of fame but departs in tone. His pared-down oil portraits of stars like Monica Vitti and Jean Seberg evoke the glamour and enigma of midcentury cinema, emphasizing stardom’s dual nature—accessible yet distant. In an age obsessed with authenticity, Hannah’s reverent, almost saintly depictions of actors feel nostalgic, offering a poignant reflection on fame’s timeless allure and constructed nature.
