October 8 - November
5, 2005
Reception: Saturday, October 8, 2005 from 2 - 6 PM
Reception: Saturday, October 8, 2005 from 2 - 6 PM
The major focus in Hansen's work is the telling of stories based on her own life experiences. Like a diary, her ceramics chronicle her personal history. Her pieces are characterized by symbols and the juxtaposing of imagery and expressive color. In her sculpture, she confronts topics of all kinds with whimsy, humor and satire. Her use of vibrant color, simple forms and the directness of her ìmessageî clearly reflect her love of folk art and her years working with children. She feels that the ìmagicî in her art occurs when viewers can respond to her visual stories through their own life experiences.
Hansen says, "In A to Z IV I tell more stories. Again I use the image of the chair as a metaphor for the human condition. Ideas for my "stories" come fast, furiously and constantly and are mostly inspired by daily life. The concept of A to Z, which came eight years ago as my son was mastering the alphabet, helps me rein in my thoughts, limit my ideas to 26, and get to work! My work is made to be shared: little conversations with my viewers...connections."
Hansen's pieces are constructed of low-fire clay. She extrudes long tubes of clay and assembles the chair shapes using steel nails to hold them together. Next, she rolls out thin, textured slabs to ìupholsterî the seats. She embellishes them with nichrome wire and clay details. Once fired, she paints them with acrylic paint and adorns them with ribbon and possibly found objects and collage.
Johanna received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Art and Teaching Credentials from San Diego State University. She taught Art and English at the middle school level for fifteen years. Hansen was born in Lakeside, California, and has lived there most of her life. She studied painting and printmaking in college, but has always worked primarily in clay and mixed media. Although her career began in teaching art, she has been working full-time creating her own unique pieces for about ten years.
The Folk Tree Collection is located at 199 S. Fair Oaks Avenue in Pasadena, minutes walking distance from the Gold Line's Del Mar Station (and just fifteen minutes from down Los Angeles off the end of the 110 freeway) near the heart of Old Pasadena. Gallery hours are: M-W, 11-6; Th-Sat, 10-6; Sun, 12-5. For further information, contact Gail Mishkin at (626)793-4828.
