Wildfires and War Rage in Shawn Huckins’ Theatrical Paintings

In Slow Burn, Shawn Huckins puts the cognitive dissonance that defines our current era in stark relief. The New Hampshire-based painter has long challenged American mythology and collective aggrandizing by reinterpreting canonical artworks and visual languages. His series have commented on the U.S.’s proclivity for erasing history and the ways our garments convey social status and class. In this new body of work, he directs us to the contradictory experience of witnessing destruction as both a spectacle and a distant occurrence.

Slow Burn presents a suite of landscapes, each veiled by curtains. Floral drapery flanks a catastrophic explosion, a sliver of sunlight peeks through a decorative toile de jouy pattern, and delicate lace veils a wildfire in the distance. Opened just enough to allow a partial glimpse, the curtains suggest a theatrical scene in which the raging disasters of war and the climate crisis are ongoing.

“War Cloud and Floral Blue Curtain” (2026), oil and acrylic on canvas, 37 x 30 inches

In contrast to the 19th-century landscapes synonymous with the Hudson River School, Huckins stages scenes in which romanticism and idealized vistas are long gone. While the viewer peers outward from the safety of a home, the fires and bombs that characterize the outside world inch closer, and the complacency, privilege, and pure luck that have provided protection thus far are ever more precarious.

Slow Burn runs from July 11 to August 22 at K Contemporary in Denver. Until then, find more from the artist on Instagram.

“Wildfire Sunset Behind Sheer Curtain” (2026), acrylic on canvas, 60 x 48 inches

“First Sun and Green Curtain” (2026), oil on canvas, 64 x 96 inches

“Wildfire Sunrise Behind Floral Lace Curtain” (2026), acrylic on canvas, 36 x 30 inches

“War Cloud and Glowing Blue Curtain” (2026), oil and acrylic on canvas, 60 x 48 inches

“First Sun and Toile de Jouy Curtain (2)” (2026), oil on canvas, 32 x 26 inches

“Sunset and Glowing Green Curtain Study (after Church)” (2026), oil and acrylic on canvas, 32 x 26 inches

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