
Hanna Bruer
Every emotion deserves to be felt, held, and heard. Living with Borderline Personality Disorder means I experience emotions fast, deep, and intensely – and often all at once. There’s joy that electrifies, sorrow that consumes, anger that burns, and love that overwhelms. My work is my way of navigating that emotional terrain—a way to process what feels too big to hold alone, a way to sift through the weight and pull out something beautiful. It is wildly personal.
Through gestural, abstract landscapes on canvas and wood, I translate these feelings into form. I use acrylic paint and a range of materials, building layers of texture, movement, and noise. Marks can be spontaneous or intentional, gentle or bold. Written elements thread through the surface—fragments of an internal language, scattered private thoughts, or emotional residue. These marks don’t ask to be read, but rather felt. I work with my hands over brushes, embracing the mess, the rawness, the direct contact. The process itself becomes an emotional act—sometimes tender, sometimes chaotic, always cathartic.
My paintings don’t offer perfection or answers. They ask questions, provoke reflection, and invite you into a shared emotional space. They speak in riddles, much like the internal world from which they’re born – not easily understood, but deeply human. There’s no right way to engage with them. So, dive in, get lost, see what you can read in the work. Maybe, in that mess, you’ll find something that feels honest, something you understand on your own personal level.
