Before I Forget

Works by Lily Hanson
November 23-January 11, 2020
Opening reception Saturday, November 23, 6:00-8:00 pm

Kirk Hopper Fine Art welcomes artist Lily Hanson in her first solo exhibition Before I Forget.

Before I Forget includes framed collage works and sculpture made of found and used constructed materials, carved plaster and fabric. Hanson maintains a strong interest in simple techniques of construction, the beauty and meditative effect of handmade objects, and the sculptural object regarding the idea of function, emotional attitude, and imagination/dream imagery. The sculptures are made of materials and objects that had been used in other works that were unfinished or intended to be used and forgotten. The collages are made with an intentional lack of intention in an attempt to build the surfaces free form of the final result.

Lily Hanson's title, Before I Forget, is partly a self-depreciating joke and a reminder of impulses left unexplored. Hanson finds a sense of satisfaction in completing unfinished projects and creating new ones with a sense of abandon, looking to glean the naïve positivity of youth.

Artist's biography

Lily Hanson's sculpture and assemblage combine her interests in the everyday, questions of value, and in tactile aspects of the object world. In a variety of materials, Hanson looks at contrasts of soft and hard, fragile and strong, and small versus large. The results draw attention to ideas of function and expression (or lack thereof) in the object world and how they affect people, emotionally and physically.

Lily received her BA from Hampshire College in 1995. Her final exhibition there looked at light and architecture and ideas around installation with sculptural objects and printmaking. She received her MFA from Southern Methodist University in 2000. There she started exploring the body relative to the sculptural object. Her thesis dealt with intimacy in human/object interactions, exploring how color, texture and design condition those relationships. This has been a continuing theme in her work.

Hanson has just finished her tenure as a visiting Assistant Professor of Sculpture at Hampshire College. Previously, she has taught at Southern Methodist University, Vermont College, and Eastfield College. She has exhibited in Texas, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, California, and New York.