Duane Hanson

Who has not seen them, Duane Hanson's larger-than-life figures which seem to have sprung directly from the waxworks of ordinary life. In the museum, they quickly become the favourites of visitors, are beleaguered by school kids and jealously protected by museum attendants. Those who dare to approach the casts made from polyester resin closely are rewarded with an unabashed look at things which could never be studied so uninhibitedly at the model itself: wrinkles, facial hair and other bodily imperfections. And yet, Duane Hanson's objective is not blatant voyeurism but the opening of a view onto those things we prefer to overlook, onto the drabness of everyday life, and in the last consequence onto mortality - also that of the viewer. The helpless, empty gaze which characterizes almost all of his figures testifies to the high price paid by many for a life in the American dream. At the moment, there is no study of Duane Hanson's complete oeuvre on the market, a gap closed by this extensive monograph documenting all stages of his original work. (English edition available ISBN 3-7757-9093-4) The artist: Duane Hanson (Alexandria, Minnesota 1925-1996 Davie, Florida). From 1943-1951, studies at various art schools. From 1967, life- sized sculptures made from fibreglass and polyester resin. In 1972, participation in documenta 5. Professorship at the University of Miami in 1979. Exhibition Schedule: Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt 15.9.01- 6.1.2002, Galerie der Stadt Stuttgart 19.1.-28.4.2002, Padiglione d'Arte contemporanea Milano 17.5.-1.9.2002, Kunsthal Rotterdam 22.9.-24.11.2002, National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh 15.12.2002-25.02.2003