STEPHEN HANSENArtist Stephen Hansen is a Seattle native who moved to New Mexico in 1984, and has been working as a professional artist since 1968. In addition to paper mache, he works in resin, hydrocal, wood, bronze, steel and stone. Hansen has had one-man shows in commercial galleries and art museums in Detroit, Chicago, Santa Fe, Washington, Philadelphia, and New York.His meticulous paper mache creations are known all over the world and are included in museum, corporate, private, and government collections including the New Mexico Capitol Art Collection in Santa Fe, the, The Federal Reserve and Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., and United States Embassies in Naples, Italy and Caracas, Venezuela Artist StatementAs an artist I am not an explorer of the human condition, so much as a hapless tourist, making snapshots of whatever strikes my fancy. I work primarily in paper mache, the appeal of which is twofold. First, it is fast enough that I can try out ideas without any sense of commitment. Secondly, it is a material so inherently humble that I can claim to make "cultural icons" or "distilled social observations" without feeling too pretentious. Stylistically, I think of my work as lifelike rather than realistic, a choice made out of a desire to represent ideas rather than individuals. I make sculpture with the idea that it should both attract and communicate. Towards that end, I try to make art that is intellectually accessible and aesthetically seductive. I approach my work day as though I were the director of a small reparatory company, with a group of actors that I costume and coerce into the characters of the story I want to tell. They tend towardover acting.Artist Statement llYou should never trust an artist who makes a statement, except under duress. STEPHEN HANSEN’S GREAT MOMENTS IN ARTAfter 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. RESUMEBorn: 1950, Seattle, WAEducation: Self-TaughtSculpture: Archival paper mache, resin, hydrocal, bronze, steelGraphics: Watercolor, etching, engraving 2009 Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts, NM SELECTED EXHIBITIONS Water Street Gallery, Douglas, MI: 92, 95, 97, 99, 01, 02, 05, 06, 07, 09, 11, 2013 - 2019 annuallyZenith Gallery, Washington, DC: 1979, 81, 87, 88, 90, 94, 97, 99, 2001, 03, 05, 08, 12, 15, 16, 18William & Joseph Gallery, Santa Fe, NM: 2013Glenn Cutter Galleries, Las Cruces, NM: 1995, 97, 98, 2001, 04, 06, 08, 09, 11, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18Xanadu Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ: 2016, 17, 18, 19Museum of New Mexico, Governor’s Gallery, Santa Fe, NM: 2002, Retrospective 2009Las Cruces Museum Of Art, Las Cruces, NM: Retrospective 2009Hallmark Gallery, San Diego, CA: 2007Gilman Gallery, Chicago, IL: 1981, 83. 86, 88, 91, 94, 96Gruen Galleries, Chicago, IL: 1998, 2000, 02, 04Xochipilli Gallery, Birmingham, MI: 1976, 77, 78, 80, 82, 84, 87, 90, 93, 95Galerie Blu, Pontiac, MI: 1998, 2000Midwest Museum of American Art, Elkhart, IN: 2002Posner Gallery, Birmingham, MI: 2005Hibbard McGrath Gallery, Breckenridge, CO: 1999Rosenfeld Gallery, Philadelphia, PA: 1986, 97Six17 Gallery, Kalamazoo, MI: 1982, 86Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, Kalamazoo, MI: 1975, 78, 81, Retrospective 1992 CORPORATE COLLECTIONS Adams National Bank, Washington, DCAES, Washington, DCAlo Alo, Trump Plaza, New York, NYAmalgamated Bank, Chicago, ILBernstein-Rein Advertising Inc, Kansas City, MOBorg-Warner, Chicago, ILCanberra Industries, Inc, Meridian, CTCapitol Center, Landover, MDCapitol Records, Los Angeles, CAChecker Motors, Kalamazoo, MIContinental Air Transport, Chicago, ILFirst of America Bank, Kalamazoo, MIFlint Auto World, Flint, MIFord Hospital, Detroit, MIHechinger Company, Landover, MDHerman Miller, Inc, Zeeland, MI, London, Paris, TorontoHughes Aircraft, El Segundo, CALuss Kaplan & Associates, Ltd, New York, NYMark Twain Banks, St. Louis, MOMcDonald’s Corporation, Oakbrook, IL, TorontoPennsylvania Power and Light, Allentown, PAQwest, Englewood, COSIT Group S.A., LuxembourgStandard Oil of Indiana, Chicago, ILSterling Petroleum, Detroit, MIUpjohn Pharmaceutical, Kalamazoo MIWDIV, Detroit, MI PUBLIC COLLECTIONS Smithsonian, National Museum of American HistoryCapitol Arts Foundation, Santa Fe, NMByer Museum of Arts, Evanston, ILFederal Energy Regulatory Commission, Washington, DCFederal Reserve Board, Washington DCFort Wayne Museum of Art, Fort Wayne, INInstitute of Aesthetic Studies, Colombo, Sri LankaKalamazoo Institute of Arts, Kalamazoo, MILas Cruces Museum of Art, Las Cruces, NMKalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport, Kalamazoo, MIMeadowbrook Theater, Rochester, MIMusee de la Civilisation, QuebecNational Association of Homebuilders, Washington, DCNational Building Museum, Washington, DCTown of Breckenridge, COUnited States Information Agency, Washington, DCUnited States Consular Collection, BiNational Gallery, Naples ItalyUnited States Embassy, Caracas Residence Art Collection, VenezuelaUnited States Embassy, Rome, ItalyUnited States Interest Section, Havana, CubaWharton Center for the Performing Arts, Michigan State University, Lansing, MI