The Hanger in Negative Space

“In 'Hanger', form unravels into feeling — a map of gestures, echoes, and whispered thoughts.”

Hanger (2024) is about the space between use and symbol — a simple object elevated into an abstract meditation. This 72 x 60 inch mixed media work from the Black and WhiteCollection uses the familiar silhouette of a clothing hanger as a compositional anchor, reinterpreted through sharp lines, bold color, and sculptural surface.

The hanger form is outlined in a luminous metallic thread over a matte black field, its geometry exaggerated — more emblem than utility. Around it, vibrant diagonals and color blocks — teal, pale pink, ochre — break the frame. The surface bears sanding marks and resin drips, turning the everyday into artifact.

I painted Hanger after finding one tangled in my studio wires. Its shape — so mundane, yet so recognizable — lingered. I began to think of it not as a tool, but as a symbol: for waiting, for presence, for structure without content. Something meant to support something else — yet standing alone.

This piece shares lineage with the semiotic play of Joseph Kosuth and the iconography of Jasper Johns, though rooted in a more tactile and emotional framework. It’s not ironic. It’s quiet. It holds space.

Hanger doesn’t explain itself. It suspends. It supports meaning — without demanding one.