Hank Reavis is a Seattle-born and raised artist. Graduated with BA from Western Washington University, he uses airbrushing as his primary choice of medium and paints reproductions of random imagery which occupies space in collective memory.

During his childhood in the 2000s, Seattle went under significant transformations, and Reavis experienced the destruction of his hometown’s urban landscape. Influenced by the fluidity of change, along with the popular culture of America and the database of digital content, Reavis forms a visual and emotional communication while separating reality from its meaning. His paintings carry a misty, dreamy layer of airbrush paint to imitate the uncertain structure of matters and recollections, while the densely colored, shiny graphics are heavily influenced by the street culture.

Reavis’ art aims to free minds from preconceptions that are conditioned and habitual. One of his latest series “Little Trees” are portraits of tree-shaped air fresheners that are marketed for use in motor vehicles. On his canvases, Reavis turns these disposable items into totems that promise passion, peace, or love, forming a spirituality in insignificant consumer goods. Tampering the meaning behind these objects through his reenactments, Reavis means to play with their acknowledged perception.

Follow Hank Reavis’ website and his Instagram @hankreavis to see familiar imagery in a new light and let them play with your convictions.