Hans Poppe is a contemporary artist whose practice includes painting, printmaking, illustration and design. We met up with him in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania to get an idea of what his art work entails and how he got into Art. Check out the interview below.
His latest paintings combine traditional art mediums with African culture and are inspired by his Tanzanian heritage and fascination with the untold stories of day-to-day African life. 2015 saw Hans emerge as an artist to watch on the Toronto scene. He debuted at the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition and returned to Manifesto for the fourth time since 2010, and his first solo exhibition, The Fabric of Tanzania, was on view in Regent Park at the Daniels Spectrum Hallway Galleries from November until January, 2016.
In June 2016 Hans was invited to Tanzania (East Africa) to exhibit his work along side the grand opening of the Boma Museum and Cultural Center in Iringa. When he’s not working,
freelancing or painting he also mentors at-risk youth, working with The Remix Project and
Arts Lab. This work pairs young artists with mentors and provides Hans another channel through which to engage with the community through art.
2017 has already been a busy year for Hans in both local and international projects. His art work has been collected locally and around the world including UK, Africa, USA, Norway, China and Australia.
Hans will be exhibiting his work at Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition July 14th – July 16th. For more information on Hans check out his website.
“Africa is not the hunger commercials, poverty & war stricken place painted in the media. It is a beautiful land with a rich cultural history & an evolved people & I aspire to reflect that version of African in my work.” -Hans Poppe
