Duane Hanson
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Duane Hanson (January 17, 1925–January 6, 1996) was an
American artist based in South Florida, a sculptor known for
his lifecast realistic works of people, cast in various
materials, including polyester resin, fiberglass, Bondo and
bronze. His work is often associated with the Pop Art
movement, as well as hyperrealism.
Hanson was born in Alexandria, Minnesota. He received his
Bachelor of Arts from Macalester College in 1946 and his MFA
from the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills,
Michigan in 1951. From 1953 to 1960, Hanson taught art in
Munich and Bremerhaven, Germany. From 1962 to 1965 Hanson
was a professor of art at Oglethorpe University in Atlanta,
Georgia.
Starting in the mid-1980s, Hansons works were cast in
bronze. His works are exact down to every detail; made via
lifecasting, the pieces created from epoxy resin or bronze,
and the whole sculpture painted to faithfully resemble a
living person. This combined with hand-picked wigs, clothing
and accessories means that Hanson’s works are perfect
simulacra, often fooling gallery visitors with their
ordinary appearance and casual stances.
Hanson chose to
sculpt working-class citizens, unremarkable people going
about their business transformed into highly complex works
of art—he gave these overlooked, generalized people a
singular identity, highlighting their activities and
societal roles. Duane Hanson and John DeAndrea are the two
sculptors most associated with photorealism. Both are famous
for amazingly lifelike painted sculptures of average people,
complete with hair and real clothes. They were called
Verists. Today the Australian artist Ron Mueck's work
relates to Hanson and DeAndrea. Hanson is recognised as one
of the most accomplished hyper-real sculptors ever.
Hanson’s work is represented in most major modern
collections. His work has been shown internationally in many
important exhibitions, including two solo retrospectives at
New York's Whitney Museum in 1978 and 1998, Five Artists and
the Figure at the Whitney Museum, a solo show at the
London's Saatchi Gallery, the 1995 Monte Carlo Sculpture
Biennale, and ‘Pop Art: 1955–1970’ at the Art Gallery of New
South Wales in Sydney, Australia.
