The paintings of Andrew Hem linger just left of reality. With his instantly recognizable style, Hem blends figurative painting and atmospheric landscapes, echoes of graffiti art and a deep understanding of color harmony. Rendering scenes both urban and rural, modern yet outside of time, he creates works that are a mix of realism and surrealism, personal truths and collective dreams.
Unsurprisingly, Hem’s unique style is born from an idiosyncratic background. His creative skills were incubated on the streets of Los Angeles, refined at ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena and have evolved through far-flung travel and a career in flight. Growing up in the Culver City neighborhood of Los Angeles, Hem was surrounded by graffiti tags and gang lettering. As he moved into high school, he took an interest in the practice and would go out at night to tag buildings. After this hobby landed him with a brief stint in jail, Hem was scared away from the practice for good. He instead turned to painting as a profession. Over the years, he has worked in illustration at Disney, partnered with brands such as Adidas and Sony Pictures, and traveled the world to exhibit his work. Hem has even garnered an invitation from the White House, one of just ten artists included in a celebration of American Art.
Much like his unconventional background, Hem’s artistic process does not adhere to any one routine. “Every piece is different,” he explains, “so it’s hard to find a method that sticks and continue it over and over.” Depending on the project, Hem may begin with a sketch study, a digital rendering or, if the vision is clear enough, will go right to the canvas. “Not having a routine is probably why I still get so excited when I enter the studio after all these years,” he says.
His latest collection, which was shown through December at Dorothy Circus Gallery in London, is entitled Refuge and includes fifteen brand new artworks that Hem created during the pandemic. The title plays on a number of themes; it is a reference to his own past as well as a nod to art as a refuge, especially during times of strife. Hem, whose parents fled Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge genocide, was brought to the U.S. when he was just six months old. He was born at a refugee camp before a family in Richmond, Virginia sponsored Hem and his parents to come to the States.
“Since then my mom and dad have sponsored a few other families and brought them to the U.S. too,” explains Hem. “It’s amazing the life they have been able to create because of the opportunity. I know it makes my parents happy to have been able to complete a full circle. That’s one part of what I wanted to create with this new body of work.”
This idea of interconnection, of the cyclical nature of life, is apparent throughout this new collection of paintings. Each work conveys individual narratives, their strong sense of place and time a grounding force, but they are also interconnected. There are recurring details, shared experiences and repeating imagery. In “Upside Down,” a figure in a hoodie stands against a backdrop of fishing boats and mountains. In another painting, “Straight Fire,” a different hooded figure walks away from a scene of chaos, fire engines and falling power lines set against a sky billowing with smoke. Through Hem’s brush the hoodie becomes a symbol, a motif that appears in settings both urban and rural, seemingly western and eastern, a common thread that underscores the basic familiarity we share as humans, no matter our backgrounds.
Every piece is different…so it’s hard to find a method that sticks and continue it over and over.“
