Deau’s art featured in Barcelona show

Artist Hanna Deau, a 2010 Mount Horeb High School graduate, had a gallery showing of her paintings at the C6 Gallery in Barcelona, Spain on May 20. While she spent much of her youth in Mount Horeb, she has since traveled much of the world, establishing a life in Spain, where she enjoys the culture, the weather, and the artistry of one of the world’s great cities.

First of all, tell us a bit about yourself. You grew up in Mount Horeb, right? What things interested you during your childhood here? Were you always interested in art? 

Deau: I’m originally from Rhinelander, WI. My family moved around a bit when I was younger but I ended up going to middle and high school in Mount Horeb. I spent a lot of time with friends, playing high school and club volleyball, as well as taking the different art classes we were offered in school. To be honest, I don’t think I really broke out of my shell until I turned 18. I always had this sense of adventure and curiosity to see the world and I was never a small town type. I wanted to go out and see the world. I wanted to be uncomfortable and try new things. After high school, I left and since then, I’ve lived in six different states and countries. Art has always played a big part in my life. More specifically, painting. This was not only my creative outlet, but also a way to express myself. Showing emotions is not my strong suit, so I use painting as my vice. 

How did you end up in Spain? Tell us a bit about your journey from here to there?

Deau: In the last 10 years, I’ve moved from Chicago, to Arizona, then Puerto Rico, to Los Angeles, to Spain. I have always wanted to move outside of the US. Europe was on the top of my list, but I wasn’t sure where. I had never visited Barcelonal; however, I heard nothing but good things, so knowing me, I just took a leap. To others, they thought I was crazy, but to me, it felt like a normal step.

To my knowledge, my family wasn’t surprised either haha. I’ve always had such a supportive family. They stick by me through all of my unique (crazy) choices. I like to take risks and like I mentioned, put myself in uncomfortable situations. This is the only way we grow as individuals. I had solo traveled internationally before so didn’t feel much different. I always tell myself, the worst thing that could happen is that I don’t like it, and I move back to the States. That’s it. So why not take the jump! 

I’ve been here for over a year now and it just has this feeling of “home.” It’s hard to explain. I’ve met so many amazing people from all around the world and the lifestyle here is so positive. The one thing I will say about Barcelona, but the majority of Europe in general, is that they don’t stress the small things. People are generally happier here from my experience. The culture, people, food, landscape and accessibility to other countries is amazing. Being able to immerse yourself into so many different cultures is so important. I’m surrounded by the sea and mountains outside of Barcelona. The architecture is beautiful and ancient and the Barcelona art scene is massive. 

What’s your daily life like, there? Pretty good food and wine, I’m guessing, right? Describe the landscape and culture you get to experience...

Deau: As for my daily life in Spain, I still work for a remote company based out of the U.S. I’m the Director of Recruitment for a high-end matchmaking firm called Select Date Society. I’ve worked with them for three years now and I love it. Of course, I had to adjust to the work hours & time difference, but you get used to it! 

I’ve spent a lot of time making friends here, exploring Barcelona (which is never ending), taking road trips through Spain, into France, traveling to Morocco, Greece, UK, Portugal, Turkey, and more. As well as maintaining a healthy routine. I’m a morning person, I love getting up at 4:30 a.m., running along the beach, then for a few hours in the morning, I work on a current art piece before I start my workday! 

Tell us about your artwork. What’s your process like?

Deau: As I mentioned, art has always been in my life, but it’s not a cheap hobby. Since I’ve moved a lot, I never really settled into one place and this led to little to no time spent creating. Fast forward a few years, once I moved into my flat in Barcelona, I felt inspired. The high vaulted ceilings, French doors and Spanish floor tiles. I have never felt so at home anywhere that I’ve lived and I knew I was going to settle in here. I slowly started purchasing more and more art supplies, stocking up on canvas’ and next thing you know, my flat has no open wall space. Each piece has an emotion or feeling behind it. Whether it was something I was going through, or something I’ve learned about myself. I used a close friend’s story as inspiration as well. In my series, ‘Saudade’, he was the main inspiration for this one. He comes from a dark past, a life most people will never live. In similarity to me, he’s not able to show much emotion, he guards himself. His outlet for the stress would be writing. He shared poems with me and when I was painting this series, I would read each poem. I put myself in his shoes, or tried. I took the emotion out of his writing to portray on the canvas. To tell a story. Which in turn allowed me to see within myself a little more deeply and use this as a learning experience for myself as well. I think its important to learn how to express yourself and be vulnerable. Lack of accountability is life without growth. This is the main purpose of this series to find beauty in the darkness. After this series, it opened my mind to new ideas, new perspectives within my art, and my every day life. I think it was a path to enlightenment and realization. The new series I’m working on incorporates my color, technique, structure and new mediums. 

What/who are some of your influences?

Deau: My influence is just everyday life. People’s stories, my stories. I want the viewer to feel something when they look at my art. However, they’d like to interpret it. I think good art makes you step outside of your own shoes for a moment, it gives you a feeling. If you look at art with an open mind, it provides some sort of emotion, [a] relation to that artist. Art should tell a story. 

Tell us about this show your work was recently featured in. What was that experience like? 

Deau: My latest show was a week ago with C6 gallery in Barcelona. It was an amazing experience. This is my first time bringing my art out into the public, outside of Instagram and other social media. It was so interesting to hear how others interpreted my art and what they saw in each piece. 

I know I’m talented and I love what I do, but seeing other people’s enthusiasm and curiosity was very reassuring. I see this as a step towards bigger things and I couldn’t be more excited to continue to create and share with the world. 

See more on Instagram at @hannahdeau or at @c6bcn.