Interview: Carlson Hatton

I am pleased to start my first interview with Carlson Hatton, an artist living and working in LA.

302: Where are you from and what did you do before moving to LA?
CH: [I was] born in San Diego, CA [then] moved to NYC to attend the Cooper Union. Moved to the Netherlands to do 'de Ateliers' studio art program in Amsterdam and later another post-graduate program in the south of Holland called The Jan van Eyck Academy for Art, Theory and Design.

302: So, tell me about your work. I love the dimensions created in them.
CH: I create drawings of abstracted landscapes. Nature and man made debris organically meld to form scenes that reference the calm of the aftermath. I'm interested in the visual overabundance we're surrounded by, the psychotic reality of a visual culture that has lost all coherence. Drawing from the wealth of printed media that fills our world: electronic catalogs, Jehovah's Witness brochures, tourist city souvenir booklets, etc. I attempt to create compositions that both reference depictions from a familiar fable and a world of abstracted groupings that seem to grow organically, reproductively. Using a panoramic format I reference a time line or narrative unfolding. Piles of speakers, car parts, mattresses, lumber, coffins, vegetables, etc. sprawled out competing with deteriorating architecture
and mountainscapes.

302: What inspires you?
CH: Printed matter is very important to my work. I have a constantly growing source catalog.

302: What lies ahead for you and your work?
CH: For the moment I plan to take these series further. The ink and watercolor work is very new and I feel there is much more to explore. I'm currently working on some larger panels at 4' x 8'. I'm always drawn to a panoramic format.

For more images and info on Carlson, you can contact him at carlsonhatton@hotmail.com or leave a comment.

image 1: LA River, image 2: Harvest, image 3: Untitled