Boston-based artist John Joseph Hanright creates collage paintings that revel in and unpack the allure of nostalgia. Hanright sources vintage materials throughout multiple eras of American cultural and advertorial history to create contemporary pop paintings that feel both in and out of time. From advertising to comics, historical headlines to timeless icons—the imagery in Hanright’s paintings all realign to create an exciting tapestry of Americana. 

Thanks for joining us today, so let’s begin, tell us a bit about where you currently live and work, any specific highlights you might like to share?  

I’m a painter and collage, assemblage artist working and living in Boston, MA. I’m represented by several galleries, and I also show work in many art shows and fairs throughout the year. I recently had an exhibition, called Iconic Style, with British photographer Nick Veasey, at Samuel Owen Gallery here in Boston.

We love your aesthetic, how did you arrive at your current collage process? 

I lived in Thailand years ago, and I would sketch the skyline of Bangkok from a rooftop. The skyline has all these advertisements on big billboards. After sketching and looking at these drawings, they looked like a grid system of advertisements. So those sketches were the impetus to use actual advertising from current and vintage periodicals in my work. For instance, my drawings of Coca-Cola ads evolved into using actual Coca-Cola ephemera in my work. Since then, I’ve been “farming” vintage materials sourced from various places. 

We’d love to hear about your creative process. 

My process is a combination of initial planning followed by letting a piece tell its own story. All works start with a collage base of ephemera covering the entire wood panel. After this point, I paint and start the layering process. This is where each individual work takes on its own course or direction. There is the adding and subtracting of materials with some element of chance involved until the work reaches a state of completion. I typically live with a work for a couple days to make sure it is in fact complete.

How do you decide what materials from other media to use and what to omit? 

The subjects in my work impact what materials I choose to add to each piece. For instance, if I am producing a work based on rock and roll, my choices of material would be reflective of that genre of music. I do sometimes add images or text into the work that would contradict what is the subject to add an element of humor, surprise, or perhaps circumstance.

What are your inspirations or influences, always my favourite question…..!

I am inspired by a continued sense of discovery and the ongoing dialogue between the art and the viewer, to include images and paint that strikes a chord with the viewer's own history, whether long ago or recently. As far as who or what influences my work, definitely Warhol, Rauschenberg, Duchamp, and current Pop Americana and culture. 

What do you think about nostalgia and does that factor into your work at all? 

I use ephemera from the 40s, 50s and 60s within almost all my work. Many pieces are heavily layered from that era, others have one or two images. My feeling is the historical aspect of adding a vintage ad or image works in the same way as a designer including at least one antique piece into the most modern home to ground the house in the present with a slight nod to the past. It’s perhaps less about nostalgia and more about grounding us in a sense of time and place. 

What draws you to the eras you source your imagery from?

I am certainly drawn to the 50s era for sure. That era’s generation has long been interpreted to be one that looked forward at a time when everything was new and exciting. From travel to sports to housing appliances—everything had a newness and sense of modernism. It’s that sensibility I try to recapture in my work. 

What does well-being mean to you, and what do you practice? 

Well-being for me is a balance of work, family and leisure. I think having a good well-being involves a balancing of life's responsibilities along with an individual's need for fun and excitement. Practice-wise, I balance my artwork with family time, exercise and some me time that includes mountain biking, skiing or surfing. I also enjoy a dinner out with friends to socialize and try new food.

What’s next for you John Joseph?

Next for me is the summer art season. I will have new works in my galleries that represent me along with two shows that are being finalized. After that the fall is busy with shows and prepping for Art Basel and Miami Art Week. I am exploring the NFT world presently as well, so things are busy, always moving forward, and I couldn't be more thankful. 

Website: https://www.johnjosephhanright.com/ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/john_joseph_hanright_art/