H. Henry Hirsch

On several occasions I have been asked to describe my work, I would answer: it is natural, spontaneous and free.
It is definitively abstract. At times it follows a pre-established program, but for the most part it is inspired by music, which is the centerpiece of my emotional impulses. There are times when I choose a certain color, I don't know why; when a certain brush stroke leads me into the following stroke, I don't know why; but, I feel a sense of response to my emotions and a connection with a synopsis of color and form for what I wish the piece to convey.

I do know that certain blues give me a sense of peace, a sense of sanctification, of ethereal embodied goodness. Red at times is a color that I recognize as a form of fear, or passion, or inferno. Conversely, black I feel carries not only obscurity but also a sense of peace when combined with white, while not mixed into grey. And so, a subliminal dialog between color and form ensues somewhere in my reactions, forging the next stroke or color combination.

In the programmed pieces of my work, a concept, a message, an idea takes form, then the elements of that program develop as abstractions, all of which then get collaged onto the canvas. This, in some spontaneous order, in some organized fashion, within the freedom of an intellectually conceived display. This allows me to feel its development and end up with the resulting expression of my work.The music that plays loudly and fills my studio is the fountain of the emotions from which I start most of my work.

As forms evolve, it is the music that guides me to the fulfillment of what is pleasing. On occasion, the experiences of life, of professional training, and the social order, emerge in the formation of certain abstractions that further fulfill my view of beauty and aesthetics. It is this universal combination, that has been brought about through internal and external influences, that allows me to express myself with freedom. As I reflect on some of my paintings which stand out in my mind as having stirred me for their
expression, are ones which, after my own personal interpretation of its abstraction, I get feelings of peace.

Others, which either by their complexity or inversely by their simplicity, leave me pensive or with a mystic feeling by their enigmatic character.

There are some which I derive a sense of having described my universe. And, of course, some in which I feel immersed and explosive with love.

In essence, my palette is a direct response to my emotions and feelings brought about by music and its magic.

The end result is a confection of emotional symbolism in the abstract ready for the viewer to create his own world from the enjoyment of the work.


All images and content are the property of Henry Hirsch and may not be used without written permission from the artist.