John Hansen (1953), painter and graphic designer, is educated at Funen Art Academy from 1971-1976 and has been exhibiting at censored exhibitions from 1977. In his career he has experimented with different art forms, but has always had a path – nature in all its form is a large inspiration as well as the human figure.

Corrosions and etchings, Torso-like figures, which appears in the mid 1980s, dissappears at the end of the decade – only to be revived several times during the years. His artistic development in his paintings continued into abstract expressionism where colour, texture and technique all comes together. A fundamental importance is the rhythm in the paintings and the element of light versus shadow, as well as texture and the aspect of space. Left behind is a distillation of the surroundings. It becomes hard to identify an actual ground colour, due to several layers of paint. Technically, the paint is painted, sprinkled and dripped on the canvas. Several places on the surface a rectangle and/or a horizontal line is seen.

Voyages to The Netherlands, Germany, and Norway, among others, has been crucial for John Hansen. But of special importance was a stay in Brazil in 1993-94. He wanted to work more freely with colours and experimented with both red ocher Brazilian earth and grey-black earth from the hills of Sønderby on Funen, made his own paint and worked to reach a point where texture and intensity became more and more pronounced.

Often John Hansens starting point is his own lithographic proof impressions, whereupon he paints sombre abstract expressionism with vague traces from, or reference to, recognisable forms. Delicate Nordic colours can in ruptured formations physically associate to mountain walls, ice, snow and clouds, combined with light and dark brown, green and deep-violet masses lit up by ochre, yellow and blue. In certain cases a horizontal line is suggested, but merely suggested.

In seven years he worked and lived half the year at his house in Mons la Trivalle; Haut Languedoc. Here he explored the delicate balance between nature experience and the forum of abstractions. He continues to visit France often. He sees possibilities in the plentiful colours of the earth and experiences the impact of light, whereupon he so to speak distills an expression that he recreates on canvas.

If interest in other works occurs please visit his homepage, Etsy or Instagram.

www.gallerihansen.dk
www.gallerihansen.etsy.com
www.instagram.com/gallerihansen.dk__john_hansen