Hanna Bruer

Art Mediums

• Acrylic

Biography

Hanna Bruer is an abstract artist in Madison, WI. Her paintings combine illegible text and grunge textures to create visceral atmospheres. Her work is inspired by her struggles with mental health and the canvas serves as a personal journal to create something beautiful out of adversity. Viewers often enjoy the aesthetic of her work, but truly fall in love with the work once they learn the story and inspiration behind each piece. She has permanent installations throughout the Midwest, including Northeast Wisconsin Technical College and Dane County Credit Union, has created commissioned artwork for Sony Playstation, and has worked with the National Alliance on Mental Illness for their Healing Art Shows. Hanna also offers her work as performance through live painting. She converts a blank canvas into an active work of art, letting the bystander experience her creative process from start to finish. She has created paintings at venues such as the Majestic Theater and Memorial Union Terrace, as well as for Madison Museum of Contemporary Art Gallery Nights. Her work and story have been featured in the Wisconsin State Journal, Madison Magazine, Isthmus, and Cap Times publications in addition to being featured on NBC News.

Every emotion demands to be examined. Joy, sorrow, anger, love, shame. Each deserves its own attention, and my reflective works aim to process their personal origins and resolutions. I use acrylic paint and ink to create gestural, abstract landscapes on canvas and wood. I incorporate illegible script as imagery, leaving the viewer open to interpret the wording and relate it to their own story. I’m inspired by the depth, complexity, and uniqueness of an emotion in any moment, and am fascinated by how they evolve. I create meaningful atmospheres of color, texture, and language to capture a place of emotion forever.