In our latest artist Spotlight, Henri Haake delivers a beautiful selection of paintings and drawings that depict personal memories alongside recognisable scenes from our everyday life. Sourced from material online, and en plain air, Haake’s figurative subject matter – often cropped or zoomed in, retains an association with digital image making, whilst offering a familiarity one experiences in our daily lives.

Henri Haake’s work focuses on the beauty of the everyday, highlighting both the ease and severity of life. Daily observations in public places and digital spheres, as well as images of his own memory mark the starting point for his artistic process. The result are drawings and paintings with energetic coloration that often remind us of smartphone images.

”Baracoa Boy is one of the last paintings from a time when I still used my own photographs as source material. I met the boy in Cuba and talked with him briefly on the beach. The image has a slightly melancholic drive as we talked about the world, our own possibilities and other things. What made the scene so special was the light at that moment. In the painting, I tried to capture this afterglow, the time just after the sun disappeared on the horizon.”

"Drawings are studies, first ideas but also works for me. I find more and more joy in drawing. They have an invaluable directness and spontaneity."