Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20Though there are many painters today doing compelling work in this uninhibited climate where illusion and surface event settle into tense juxtaposition, few have managed to achieve the intricacy, the nuance and the cohesion of Hatton’s creations. Modest in scale but lavish in substance and inventiveness, each painting’s elements build fugue-like along a purely visual narrative, accounting for much of their appeal. Several small panels are included in the exhibition. Complete in themselves, these efforts often serve as provocations for the larger work, though the word prototype may be more accurate. The process by which they are transposed to a larger format is not one of mere copying but tends to continue in an unbroken deliberation on what inspired the initial imagery. In other words, improvisation continues. Though noticeably similar, both small work and larger painting each carry the logic of their own history. Note too that the paintings in this exhibition do not rely on a predetermined value assigned to gestural expression. For Hatton, spontaneity is a tool, not a strategy. His managing of a painting’s cohesion is a process reflective of a keenly analytical mind, a process that remains visible and endlessly intriguing to the attentive viewer. Peter Malone March 2017