Check Out Hans Koesters’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Hans Koesters.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started? 
Art has always been a significant part of my life; I loved drawing people and spaces ever since I was young. It was my interest in understanding the nuanced relationships people have with their environments that led me to many years of architectural training. Architecture education gave me a language and framework for conceptualizing the world. However, painting provided a way to explore architectural problems with more freedom. I attribute my unique design perspective to the abstract explorations I’ve been able to pursue through painting. Over the past decade, my art has continued to be driven by the question of how spatial boundaries shape human experiences. 

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I think creative pursuits rarely offer a smooth road. Narrowing an identity has been a particular challenge as either an artist who is a licensed architect or a practicing architect who exhibits abstract paintings. Art and architecture carry equally significant weight in my perspectives and ethos. However, these disciplines can be part of very insular worlds, and it’s been an ongoing balancing act to prioritize both. 

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
I’ve been very fortunate to have exhibited my work in Los Angeles, where it feels most at home, however this past year offered an exciting opportunity to show new work in Paris. The show Artifice drew inspiration from architecture, theater, and the human form to depict complex relationships through precarious composition. The goal of the series was to invite viewers’ own interpretation of the tensions between figural characters, whose dialogue exists in the intensity between drawn boundaries. The show opened to a very positive reception, and I was thrilled to see viewers engage with the pieces in all the ways I’d hoped for. I heard spirited– even contentious–discussions about the emotions elicited by each painting, and the experience reaffirmed my belief in art as a universal language across cultural and political contexts. 

Contact Info:

• Website: https://hanskoesters.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hans_koesters/