Like waves on the ocean, or the blue of the sky, or sand running through your fingers, Lothar Hempel’s painting is a deeply sensual and sentimental proposal. It speaks of the idle desires we project onto past and future, of dreams that are not obtainable, especially when the present fills us with unease. “‘Casa Azul’ is a place near the ocean…when I paint I forget about the past and the future, I need to forget about the present as well. When a painting is finished it slowly drifts away. The painting has become a presence,” the artist tells us. The painting is the undeniable materialization of sensuality and compassion, and thereby stands anathema to any form of nostalgia and escapism. “Casa Azul” is a tangible object of desire.