Minnesota, 1925- 1996)
(1925 – 1996) American sculptor, recognized as the leading exponent of Surrealist sculptural art.
Trained at the Cranbrook Academy of Art, in Michigan, Hanson first came into limelight, in the 1960s, with his detailed figurative sculptures in fibreglass, dressed with real clothes and props. His themes were generally very powerful, such as: race issues and war.
During the 1970s, Hanson began focussing his work on figures that represented more commonplace themes of the American life. In his own words: The subject matter I like the best deals with the familiar lower and middle class American types of today. To me, their resignation, emptiness and loneliness of their existence captures the true reality for these people. One of his most visible pieces of this period is the ‘ Tourists ‘ (National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh, Scotland), which depicts a couple of ageing and obese American tourists.