David Hinchen
David Hinchen’s paintings celebrate the visually absorbing shapes, colors, textures and eccentric details of the urban landscape. For him, buildings are the significant carriers of cultural memory. Surviving the builders and residents, they are reminders of remoter lives and times. Over the years, a city takes on an almost geological aspect, with successive generations leaving behind a layering of architectural styles. The enduring physical makeup of a city directly influences its culture as well as its ability to survive as a place people care about.
David’s cityscapes are always without people. The buildings are the complete statement. Many people have observed that the buildings in his paintings seem strangely animated, as if they had personalities of their own. The windows, shutters and doors read almost like facial features, elements of individuality that make their presence felt. The scenes he paint are realistic in perspective, but imaginative in detail, color and lighting. His architectural subjects are often idealized to the status of an timeless icon.
Early on, David was inspired by the lonely landscapes of Edward Hopper and brilliant color staging of Maxfield Parrish. He studied with Elden Rowland for many summers on Cape Cod. A noted abstract expressionist, Rowland was also adept at painting realistic portraits and seascapes. Rowland was educated at the Art Academy of Cincinnati, then studied with Robert Brackman and Jerry Farnsworth. Farnsworth was a student of Charles Hawthorne, the founder of the Cape Cod School of Art (Provincetown, 1899). David’s interest in aesthetics, architecture, history and urban design has influenced his work. He received a B.A. in philosophy and political science from Drew University and an M.A. in political science from Columbia University. A full-time artist, David has spent the last 35 years creating over 3000 original commissions for individual clients.
For many years, David worked solely in pen and black ink. Slowly, he introduced color and has since developed a completely original technique which is characterized by precise ink images with acrylic tones painted over each other, resembling thin semi-opaque or transparent layers. When dry, it produces a smooth satin finish.
David’s work has been featured in exhibitions at the Albany Institute of History and Art, New York State Museum, Provincetown Art Association/Museum, Slater Memorial Museum, Salmagundi Club, Lyme Art Association, Lichtenstein Center for Arts, New York State Capitol, Ridgewood Art Institute, Laffer Gallery, Cooperstown Art Association, Arkell Museum and Historic Albany Foundation's Built Show. Since 2018, he has been the Built Exhibition Committee Chairperson. David is a member of the Salmagundi Club, the Copley Society of Art, the Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts, the Cooperstown Art Association, the Lyme Art Association and represented in the U.S. Department of State’s Art in Embassies Exhibition (Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina). He is also a member of the Board of Directors, Historic Albany Foundation.
Selected Works
