Walter  Hatke

Walter Hatke received his BA at DePauw University, Indiana in 1971. Then received his MFA at the University of Iowa, in 1982. He also worked with Alexander Calder in New York from 1974-1977!

“My subjects emerge and engage my attention over time for no consciously preconceived reason. Time takes on meaning that differs from standard intervals. Tenses constantly shift. The compositions unfold and evolve over weeks, months, sometimes years. Taken together, my paintings and drawings become a sort of koinoi topoi, a personal collection of commonplaces. As in poetry, I, the artist, provide an image. Viewers bring their own experiences and perceptions to the image I present and come away with their own interpretations, which is exactly my intention.

The materials I employ are those painters have used for centuries: oil paint applied to Belgian linen stretched on wood frames; charcoal, graphite, or watercolor applied to heavy paper. My reasons for working in this manner are free from doctrinaire motives, apart from the simple fact I enjoy painting and drawing the way I do.” – Walter Hatke