Interview

Nov 20

Hazem Mansour

Working from his home studio in Washington D.C., HAZM, née Hazem Mansour, or simply ‘Haz’ is an abstract painter. Drawing on elements of expressionism, brutalism, minimalism, impressionism, and surrealism, HAZM sees art as both a byproduct of life and a means to uncovering the deeper self. Never limiting himself to any one genre, his arsenal of acrylics, spray paint, resin, and graphite take his audiences into a sprawling patchwork of human temperaments. There’s much to explore here - jubilant multicolor washed canvas, nightmarish acrylic lacing textures, a palette knife‘s interpretation of a dreamy twilight - and beyond. HAZM’s technical approaches are unapologetically diverse: splattering, pours, dry brush, impasto, image impression, and hand drawing are all present, sometimes all in the same painting. Beyond brushstrokes and palette knives, there is the occasional usage of masonry tools or the oddity of gym equipment to add texture to his collections.

Born in upstate New York and brought up in the Baltimore/Washington D.C. area to immigrant parents from Cairo, Egypt, HAZM’s first works as a child were autodidact pencil animations which later lead to inking his own original comic books as a teenager. Majoring in film and electronic media while in university lead to storyboarding and producer collaborations in short film productions. But it was his passion for art as a vehicle to self discovery that lead him to abstract visual storytelling. The common denominator of his work being the emotional draw of seemingly simple abstract subject matter. Creating a compelling range of imagery aimed to encourage viewers to project their own stories onto the canvas, art is an accessible and deeply psycho-spiritual adventure, according to HAZM. Insisting the art is never exclusively about the artist.

What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?

“I was born in a small Appalachian town in upstate New York to Egyptian parents. Most of my upbringing had been in the Baltimore, Maryland area. My work history has been primarily federal government related or in alignment with supporting that sector. In 2012 I settled in Washington D.C. to further pursue my career. My art journey started in third grade when I took to drawing Peanuts characters with a #2 pencil during detention. I remember the moment: I saw an image of Snoopy on a bulletin board in front of me and started duplicating the image on paper. Other cartoon characters followed throughout the years, including my own creations which had their own storylines. I graduated to penciling and inking my own comic book characters as a teenager and eventually developed my own superhero comic. I’d work 10 to 12 hour days practicing, stenciling, inking, and revising during summer vacation. It gave me reprieve in an otherwise isolating and strict upbringing. At that point I was an autodidact artist. During university I majored in business and filmmaking and took to storyboarding short films on campus in addition to directing and producing. However, it wasn’t until my 20’s that I decided to take on abstract art.”

What inspires you?

“Like many artists, tapping into vibes, emotions, and feelings can produce artistic content. Inspiration in itself is a triggering event. The dewy scent of flowers that accompany a daybreak. The nostalgia of a country road on a summer day. The murky atmosphere during a heavy fog. The black roofs of Shinto shrines while on holiday in Japan. It’s not uncommon for me to wake in the middle of the night and jot down ideas on my iPhone. That bolt of inspiration hits and then the painting or drawing that follows is more or less its technical interpretation. I’m generally inspired to produce during moments of stillness, a meditation if you will. The heart flows and my hand follows until the very last stroke, pour, or glaze.”

What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?

“I do feel that we are created to create. Art is an expression, a projection of one’s experiences and how one relates to their surroundings. This is why I create. Our reactions to art say less about the artist’s tastes or techniques and more about the audience’s nature. And while one art-piece may be specific or personal, all art is mutually interconnected. Because we all are. As a means to self exploration, I’d rather my audience internalize what they see and determine on their own what that might mean to them thematically. To some degree, my own vantage point will differ from the person next to me. And that’s perfectly reasonable.”

“We learn about ourselves relative to the art we experience. Why you love something is equally relevant as why you don’t.”

How would you describe your work?

“Moods in the key of abstraction. My paintings are moods, stories, and footnotes that define my life. That also say something about yours. On a technical level, they are textured, abstract palette knife paintings that are ethereal, jubilant, euphoric, dark, melancholic, dreamy, and at times, anxious.”

Which artists influence you most?

“To be honest, I can’t say I’m a dedicated or even casual follower of other artists save a handful that I admire on social media. I do enjoy art movements, like Impressionism, Expressionism, and Surrealism, which can vaguely surface in some of my work. Also, sometimes influential artists have no name. The natural world is a key example. Is the landscape of the desert canyon not art? How about a crumbling stone wall overrun by vines? Is that not art worthy of credit and inspiration?”

What is your creative process like?

“An idea hits like a bolt of lightning so I usually move quickly to commit the visual to a digital sketchbook before I forget. The ideas are so numerous that ideas lay in preproduction for months or never see the light if day. At some point, I’ll gather the acrylic paints but can’t say I have a great deal of control beyond that. The body just knows what to do. Art is almost an out of body experience. Usually, I create in my home studio in the dead of the night when my environment is the most still. Other times, I work in nature - a stream, a field, around horses…”