‘As You Are’ Exhibit Opens September 21

Shadae Hunt has been feeling stuck. Although her immense artistic talent allows her to conjure vibrant, stirring oil paintings, she’s been grappling with an all-too-familiar feeling—imposter syndrome.

“Yeah, I can paint, but sometimes I feel like my meanings and stuff aren’t really there,” Hunt reveals, thoughtfully parsing out the reason for her creative block. “And that, to me, is what art is—when you have a meaning that you can capture and show to people.”

But the artist has found a way to flip the script, and the imposter syndrome that was once her creative block is now her inspiration. Her most recent works are part of a collection that contemplates imposter syndrome and what it means to be authentically yourself.

“I really want these paintings to resonate with people because I know… imposter syndrome and feeling like you’re not good enough to be in the community and whatnot is a very, very real feeling for a lot of people,” Hunt says. “I really want to portray that… it’s OK to be who you are and we are all going to suffer with something in life and it’s OK to be that.”

Her paintings encapsulate the theme of Union Hall’s upcoming exhibition, As You Are. The exhibition is a commentary on the human experience that delves into self-acceptance, authenticity, imperfections, and shame. Hunt and artists Leilani Abeyta and David Grajeda Gonzalez will display their collections of raw, emotional portraits at Union Hall from September 21 to October 21.

Hunt, who recently finished a residency with Denver Art District’s Emerging Artist Residency Program, is proud of her imposter-syndrome-fueled creations. Her pieces usually hop from one end of the artistic spectrum to another, switching between realism and abstract, but these paintings are a little different.

“Abstract is really way more freeing to me,” Hunt says. “Once I (create) a realism painting, I always like to go to abstract to have a break and really get my creative side out because when I do hyperrealism, it’s more like a study.”

Her work for the Union Hall exhibition incorporates elements of both styles and falls into a category she calls “hyper-realism, abstract-ish.” The main focus of each painting has the intense, life-like detail of hyperrealism, while some of the backgrounds act as an abstract playground—a place to release her creativity and explore color and shapes.

She’s still putting the final touches on the last piece of the collection: a painting that shows a woman lying down while someone else is holding her up. Hunt says the painting is about recovering from difficult times and picking yourself back up after stumbling. “I’m a very spiritual person, so I really reflect with myself and I always talk to myself and feel the emotions with myself. I’m not really (into) ‘I’m going to talk to somebody and vent and hopefully they’ll give me a solution,'” she says. “I know it takes (a) very long (time) when you do that because you feel like you’re isolating yourself and whatnot, but… to the people who do that, I really wanted to make this painting for them because I feel like there are a lot of people like that in this world.”

The opening reception for As You Are is Thursday, September 21 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Union Hall, 1750 Wewatta Street, Suite 144.