Overview

Early video game consoles like the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) were designed with a reset button. When pressed, this button scrambled, and then rebooted, the software running on the console. While it was not necessarily the intent of this feature, the reset button on my NES often got used in a release of frustration. My finger would jam this button in a fit of annoyance at an overly challenging level, or seemingly unbeatable computer opponent.

These screenprints were made in 2021. They mark a shift in my studio practice - a transition from the creation of concretely narrative compositions to the use of a more abstract language. They reflect on personal change, and on the climate of change in contemporary culture. They consider the ways that narratives anchor us, and the challenges that come when those ties are broken. They also consider the messy nature of operating outside of the story and the resolve that is necessary in resetting a narrative entirely.

Each of these prints is a unique one-of-one work which was built layer by layer with no pre-determined solution. Each layer was placed intuitively to respond to and cover up the previous choices. Many of the repeated motifs in the prints are abstracted from 8- and 16-bit video games and reflect on themes such as unrest, resolve, reward and consequence.

About The Artist

Dan Hernandez received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2000 from Northwest Missouri State in Maryville, MO, and a Masters of Fine Arts in 2002 from American University in Washington, DC. His paintings explore the visual dialog between religion, mythology, and pop culture.

His work has been presented in numerous exhibitions including shows at the Toledo Museum of Art, Kim Foster Gallery in New York City, Context Art Miami in Miami, FL, Mass Art Art Museum in Boston, MA, Matadero Center for Contemporary Creation in Madrid, Spain, and many others.

Dan’s work has been widely written about and reproduced. It has appeared in ARTnews, HyperAllergic, Juxtapoz Magazine, New Art Examiner, Artillery Magazine, Arte Fuse, Gizmodo, Der Spiegel and many other online and print publications.

Dan was awarded Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellency Awards in 2011, 2015, and 2025.

He is currently a Professor in the Art Department at the University of Toledo, Community Digital Artist in Residence at the Toledo Museum of Art and the President of the Board of Trustees at The Arts Commission.