Shadows

This photographic base was shot in New York City.

Printed on Fine Art Hahnemühle Hemp Natural Line 290 g/m2.

Each print comes signed and numbered. 

Unframed. With a small white border. Send in a tube.

Print size 90 x 60 cm - Edition of 10

Print size 75 x 50 cm - Edition of 10.

Print size 45 x 30 cm - Edition of 10.
Print size 10,5 x 14,8 cm - Open Edition

Where Light Plays Hopscotch with the Ordinary.

Thomas Haensgen’s “Shadows” from the series Kinda New York is a visual paradox, a deliberate entanglement of reality and abstraction that invites the viewer to see the familiar in an entirely new light – literally. What seems at first glance to be a mundane façade of a New York building is interwoven with a chaotic lattice of abstract forms that twist and blur the scene like a daydream halfway through a crowded subway ride.

In this image, Haensgen challenges the viewer to discern where the everyday ends and the fantastical begins. The fire escape, a quintessential symbol of urban architecture, becomes a character in its own right, casting shadows that feel more like memories of a scene than the scene itself. It’s as if the building has decided to join an improv performance and the shadows are improvising along, stretching and warping like they’re late for their own curtain call.

The abstraction in the foreground, with its sharp, almost aggressive patterns, seems to represent the urban jungle literally pushing through the image, disrupting the clean lines and orderly geometry of the building behind it. This is where Haensgen’s humor subtly emerges: the chaotic forms almost mock the rigidity of the building, as if to say, “You may stand still, but the city never does.” It’s the artistic equivalent of your friend reminding you that no matter how neatly you stack your papers, the wind will always have other plans. This work finds its place in a lineage of artists who explore the relationship between structure and spontaneity. While Mondrian sought to tame chaos with perfect grids, Haensgen seems to revel in letting chaos loose, allowing it to scribble across the canvas like a rebellious teenager. Yet, unlike Basquiat, whose works scream defiance, Haensgen’s playful interruptions are more of a mischievous nudge – like poking your roommate when they’ve been staring at the same email draft for too long.

But what truly sets “Shadows” apart is its ability to turn a fleeting moment into something that feels both intimate and universal. It’s as if the viewer is privy to a quiet joke shared between the building and its own reflection. There’s a sense of voyeuristic delight in observing how the rigid architectural lines are transformed, almost ridiculed, by the unruly patterns that seem to engulf them.

Ultimately, “Shadows” is a reminder that even in the most structured environments, disorder finds its way – sometimes as shadows dancing on a wall, sometimes as unexpected bursts of color in a city too gray for its own good. It’s a visual metaphor for the simple truth that in life, the straightest paths are often crossed by the most unpredictable patterns. And that sometimes, you just have to let the light play hopscotch with the ordinary.