Elias Hansen
11 Jul - 09 Aug 2014
ELIAS HANSEN
You can cry all you want, but it ain't changing shit
11 July - 9 August 2014
Jonathan Viner is pleased to present You can cry all you want, but it ain’t changing shit, an exhibition of new works by Elias Hansen. Hansen’s installation consists of the delicate hand-blown glass, rough wood, steel and found objects that are characteristic of his practice; sourced materials from his immediate surroundings that question and elevate the status of the unprecious object. Various glass vessels such as flasks, tubes and beakers, rest across makeshift steel display mechanisms and wooden planks adapted to function as shelves. Reminiscent of a tinkerer’s shed, the objects hang with recycled fixings alongside rusting tools.
Trained as a glass-blower, Hansen’s sculptures bear distinct characteristics of the hand made. The tenants of glass blowing have remained the same for thousands of years, its material a constant to which the practitioners adapt. The act of working a single piece of glass, although short in itself, reflects both technical understanding and muscle memory. The finished works fill and populate the environment they inhabit, with forms that appear utilitarian. Occasionally they are put to a practical purpose, but they distance themselves from relying on function.
Each work contains the fragments of real and ficticious narratives: the tools of hurried illicit activity, pestles, mortars and stills of every sort, thus planting the seeds for a story where the user of the objects are the protagonist. Hansen’s titles reinforce the sense of an imaginary character’s adventures, they read like phrases uttered along a journey, stating the obvious only to confirm a shared experience: Take a nap, this one ain't changing soon., 10 pounds says you're fucked.. They present the possibility of a mysterious world beyond- alchemical pursuits and intoxicating animism, where joy in an action is reason enough to do it.
You can cry all you want, but it ain't changing shit
11 July - 9 August 2014
Jonathan Viner is pleased to present You can cry all you want, but it ain’t changing shit, an exhibition of new works by Elias Hansen. Hansen’s installation consists of the delicate hand-blown glass, rough wood, steel and found objects that are characteristic of his practice; sourced materials from his immediate surroundings that question and elevate the status of the unprecious object. Various glass vessels such as flasks, tubes and beakers, rest across makeshift steel display mechanisms and wooden planks adapted to function as shelves. Reminiscent of a tinkerer’s shed, the objects hang with recycled fixings alongside rusting tools.
Trained as a glass-blower, Hansen’s sculptures bear distinct characteristics of the hand made. The tenants of glass blowing have remained the same for thousands of years, its material a constant to which the practitioners adapt. The act of working a single piece of glass, although short in itself, reflects both technical understanding and muscle memory. The finished works fill and populate the environment they inhabit, with forms that appear utilitarian. Occasionally they are put to a practical purpose, but they distance themselves from relying on function.
Each work contains the fragments of real and ficticious narratives: the tools of hurried illicit activity, pestles, mortars and stills of every sort, thus planting the seeds for a story where the user of the objects are the protagonist. Hansen’s titles reinforce the sense of an imaginary character’s adventures, they read like phrases uttered along a journey, stating the obvious only to confirm a shared experience: Take a nap, this one ain't changing soon., 10 pounds says you're fucked.. They present the possibility of a mysterious world beyond- alchemical pursuits and intoxicating animism, where joy in an action is reason enough to do it.