Dan Hernandez posed for a photo in Madhouse Gallery.
“When the artist has fully invested himself or herself in a work, that work becomes a candid snapshot of his or her person,” said local artist Dan Hernandez, whose second solo exhibition of his boyish and playful creations is on display in “Recent Work” at the Madhouse Gallery, 1215 Jackson St. in Toledo.
Hernandez is a man with many roles. He is the manager of Firenation Glass Studio and Gallery in Holland, Ohio; former volunteer on the visual arts committee for a local nonprofit organization, Art-O-Matic 419; and instructor to aspiring artists through The University of Toledo Art Department.
"The Life of Shipwreck” by Dan Hernandez is included in “Recent Work."
As an artist, Hernandez mixes religion, mythology and pop culture to blur boundaries and question iconography, collectables and devotion. Some of his works include stacking scenes, relating to video game levels and the design of old religious artifacts telling stories in levels.
“My recent work isn’t intended to be religious or realistically military; it is playing at both of these aspects,” he said.
Before educating and inspiring artists of today, Hernandez was a visiting lecturer and studio assistant at American University’s Art in Italy Program.
“Much of the research needed to complete the paintings in this exhibition stems from the time I spent in Italy,” Hernandez said.
He has shown his work in nearly 20 group exhibitions across the nation
“Recent Work” will be on display in the Madhouse Gallery weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. through Friday, June 12.
For more information on Hernandez or his free, public exhibition, visit www.danhernandez.org.
