When you think of the word “family,” what comes to mind? Maybe it’s the gingerbread house you made at home last Christmas, or the warm embrace of your partner after a long day at work.
American artist Paul Hunter Speagle focuses on the theme of “home” in his work titled “The Speagle’s,” inviting the audience to enter his “home” and meet his adorable family!
Paul Hunter Speagle
Born in Hickory, North Carolina, Paul Hunter Speagle is known for his vibrant and expressive works, filled with vitality, passion, and love, as well as personal religious undertones; he is also skilled in using various mediums for his creations, including oil painting, sculpture, interactive installations, and public art.
He has been learning to paint since he was young, and even won the Paul Whitener Painting Contest at the age of twelve. Influenced by underground skateboarding, street culture, and comic culture, his inspiration also comes from symbolic symbols, Native American totems, non-mainstream art, ancient myths, and biblical stories, so he always uses strong colors and oil paint stacked into block forms to express the tension between urban and rural America. Thicker brushstrokes combined with refracted light and shadow changes create a unique composition.
Speagle incorporates these historical and cultural implications into art, using them to find the place of human fleeting life in the vast time and space.
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“The Speagle’s” Exhibition
Each painting in the exhibition is a real window into understanding the daily life of the Speagle family: from conversations with his daughter, tender moments between husband and wife, presenting intimate memories between him and his family, also witnessing his introspection on becoming a better father. Therefore, this exhibition is divided into three stages, each stage being a key moment in Speagle’s artistic journey.
Inspired by a remark from his wife, “Illustrate our life!” Speagle decided to start the first phase from the “living room” at home, where timeless trinkets and framed artworks are displayed, bearing witness to the unique traditions of this family.
The second space is the artist’s “studio,” where Speagle’s creations not only preserve his memories with his family but also represent his process of self-growth and his way of dealing with complex life, allowing us to feel the artist’s creative process.
Image provided by the artist and JPS Gallery.
The final space of the exhibition focuses on the artist’s family videos and newly created large-scale paintings, including a piece that is over eight meters wide, making it the largest artwork ever displayed in the gallery. This large painting intricately captures the complexity of life, from pure moments of joy to the difficulties and challenges faced in life, reminding us of the importance of delicately balancing the public facade with the intimate reality in family life.
He abandoned the common “perfect family” filter and presented his daily interactions with his family in a real way to the audience. Whether it’s family disputes or the ever-thickening bills on the kitchen table, these experiences are closely related to everyone’s lives but are not often mentioned. As people tend to only portray idealized family life to the world, he still insists on presenting a family life without the filter of beauty in a real way to the world.
“On this artistic journey, I take my family’s daily life as the theme, creating a series of touching works that not only allow the audience to understand our daily lives, but also reveal a side that is often hidden from the public eye in the most authentic way. In this world full of idealized images, this series of works is not filtered or beautified by social media, nor influenced by it. Like a bright lighthouse, in the sea of lies, it guides everyone and provides a clear direction.” – Paul Hunter Speagle
Speagle’s creations reflect his relentless pursuit of growth, hoping to invite everyone to cherish their connection with family through his creations and warm family fragments, and encourage everyone to embrace beautiful hope even in the face of adversity.
Paul Hunter Speagle「The Speagle’s」
Date: May 3 – June 1, 2024
Location: JPS Gallery (Shops 218-219, 2/F, Landmark Atrium, 15 Queen’s Road Central, Hong Kong)
