Hannah Moghbel
Hannah Moghbel
Colorado Springs, CO, United States
About Hannah Moghbel
As a hyperrealist, I paint what I see but also what I feel. I spent years questioning why I do what I do. What is the point of painting to the point of extreme realism when I can just frame the photo? The only answers that I have found are in embracing the process and also recognizing the sprinkling of genius revealed in the end results.
As I paint, it feels more like sculpting. I tend to paint more like a watercolorist than an oil painter. I build my paintings organically, rather than strategically. Layer upon layer of thin applications eventually build a sense of depth. I prefer large scale paintings because it allows me to become lost in the beauty of abstractions. It takes patience, dedication, faith and a bit of obsession for detail to create this type of work.
My day job since the age of 18 has been massage therapy. I feel this work informs my painting subconsciously, as it has heightened and built my kinesthetic awareness. When I talk to a client, see them, touch them, I am always listening and sensing what lies below the surface. Everything that I see, I touch energetically.
So it is with my painting. I contemplate the essence or the soul of my subject matter as I paint. Often I am surprised at the resulting personality of finished paintings. It is as though the visual and physical conversation that I have with my subject breaths life into the image.
Mysteriously the image, or the painting takes on a life of it's own, seperate from myself, and it feels as though I have given birth. It should be no wonder then, why the act of painting itself often feels like a struggle. No labor is complete without a degree of pain.
Ultimately painting is a way for me to seek truth and beauty. I am honored to be able to share my work with you, my viewer and hope to inspire you on your own journey.
As I paint, it feels more like sculpting. I tend to paint more like a watercolorist than an oil painter. I build my paintings organically, rather than strategically. Layer upon layer of thin applications eventually build a sense of depth. I prefer large scale paintings because it allows me to become lost in the beauty of abstractions. It takes patience, dedication, faith and a bit of obsession for detail to create this type of work.
My day job since the age of 18 has been massage therapy. I feel this work informs my painting subconsciously, as it has heightened and built my kinesthetic awareness. When I talk to a client, see them, touch them, I am always listening and sensing what lies below the surface. Everything that I see, I touch energetically.
So it is with my painting. I contemplate the essence or the soul of my subject matter as I paint. Often I am surprised at the resulting personality of finished paintings. It is as though the visual and physical conversation that I have with my subject breaths life into the image.
Mysteriously the image, or the painting takes on a life of it's own, seperate from myself, and it feels as though I have given birth. It should be no wonder then, why the act of painting itself often feels like a struggle. No labor is complete without a degree of pain.
Ultimately painting is a way for me to seek truth and beauty. I am honored to be able to share my work with you, my viewer and hope to inspire you on your own journey.
Education
Hannah Moghbel grew up as a German-Iranian immigrant in the Appalachian mountains of Pennsylvania. She got her BA in Art Education from Shepherd University, WV in 2007. Her work explores themes of longing and feminine identity through large scale hyperrealistic paintings.
Exhibitions
SELECTED RECENT EXHIBITIONS
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
Visions of Venus
Curated by Dr. Elaine Melotti Schmidt
Zhou B Art Center, Chicago, IL - April-June 2018
Finding Our Voices 11th Annual Art Show
Cottonwood Art Center, Colorado Springs, CO - April 2018
Spectacular
Las Laguna Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA – July 2017
A Womb with a View
Curated by The Vagilante
Inner Space Art Gallery, Jersey City, NJ – May 2017
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
SPQR Experiencial Art Space, Colorado Springs, CO - August 2018
The Broad Stage, Santa Monica - The Vagina Monologues - Feb. 2018
The Modbo, Colorado Springs, CO - 2015
Slant Factory, Charles Town, WV – 2013
Shepherd University, WV -The Vagina Monologues - 2013
PUBLICATIONS
Guide Artists - Issue 18 – August 2018
PoetsArtists - Issue 92 10th Anniversary - March 2018
PoetsArtists - Issue 91 Visions of Venus - Feb 2018
Math Magazine - Issue 6 - March 2018
ARTIST RESIDENCY
Artists Off Grid – July 2018, Red Feather Lakes, CO
Curated and organized by Caitlin Hurd
Fall 2019 Exhibition will be hosted by Abend Gallery, Denver at the Denver Public Library
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
Visions of Venus
Curated by Dr. Elaine Melotti Schmidt
Zhou B Art Center, Chicago, IL - April-June 2018
Finding Our Voices 11th Annual Art Show
Cottonwood Art Center, Colorado Springs, CO - April 2018
Spectacular
Las Laguna Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA – July 2017
A Womb with a View
Curated by The Vagilante
Inner Space Art Gallery, Jersey City, NJ – May 2017
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
SPQR Experiencial Art Space, Colorado Springs, CO - August 2018
The Broad Stage, Santa Monica - The Vagina Monologues - Feb. 2018
The Modbo, Colorado Springs, CO - 2015
Slant Factory, Charles Town, WV – 2013
Shepherd University, WV -The Vagina Monologues - 2013
PUBLICATIONS
Guide Artists - Issue 18 – August 2018
PoetsArtists - Issue 92 10th Anniversary - March 2018
PoetsArtists - Issue 91 Visions of Venus - Feb 2018
Math Magazine - Issue 6 - March 2018
ARTIST RESIDENCY
Artists Off Grid – July 2018, Red Feather Lakes, CO
Curated and organized by Caitlin Hurd
Fall 2019 Exhibition will be hosted by Abend Gallery, Denver at the Denver Public Library
