Stephen Hansen - The Art of Acting
12/28/2020
The Dancing Class (Degas)
There is no other artwork quite like the cleverly curated paintings by Stephen Hansen.
He welcomes it all: paint, panel, and paper mache.
A Seattle native, Stephen Hansen moved to New Mexico in 1984, and has been working as a professional artist since 1968. His iconic multi-dimensional painting/sculpture hybrids are unlike anything else in the art world today. Paying tribute to classic paintings and the masters that created them, Hansen has a way of painting iconic scenes accompanied by figure-making that offers a light-hearted element to his work.
Hansen’s work has been a favorite of ours for quite some time. Its color and whimsy obviously catch the eye, but the historical references are what really draws the viewer in. His famous paper mache style began with a Rothko painting, upon which Hansen realized he could take on the character of any artist he chose. He describes it as a “holiday” for himself and his creative process. Being able to be an observer of historical art as well as a contributor to modern art is such a delicate balance of roles, one of which Hansen has perfectly achieved through his work.
There is something for everyone when navigating Stephen Hansen's artwork. Whether you love Pollock, Da Vinci, Picasso or Van Gogh, Stephen Hansen has mastered capturing the essence of every artist as well as their style, in an effortless way.
"After taking a year off to make metal things to avoid painting, it seemed like it would be easier to learn to paint. This seemed like a good way to do that.
This project started with a "Rothko", and the notion that one's life work might have been accomplished one brilliant weekend with a roller.
What if art work really was, well...work? And paintings were done by painters?
It had never occurred to me, until I became involved in this project, to pretend to be someone else for a few days. It is a bit like a holiday, though I would recommend Gauguin over van Gogh."
- Stephen Hansen