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31/5/2015

Two Exhibitions

Serpentine Gallery, London

Duane Hanson

The Serpentine presents the work of late American sculptor Duane Hanson in his first survey show in London since 1997. Throughout his forty-year career, Hanson created lifelike sculptures portraying working-class Americans and overlooked members of society. Reminiscent of the Pop Art movement of the time, his sculptures transform the banalities and trivialities of everyday life into iconographic material. The exhibition at the Serpentine Sackler Gallery presents key works from the artist’s oeuvre.

Julia Peyton-Jones, Director, and Hans Ulrich Obrist, Co-Director, Serpentine Galleries, said: “Duane Hanson’s iconic sculptures of ordinary people will literally stop visitors in their tracks this summer. Beyond the stunning realism, the power of Hanson’s work lies in his unwavering focus on and sympathy for the human condition.”

Hanson’s early works comprised life-sized tableaux – depicting soldiers killed in action, police brutality and homeless people – that confront the viewer with devastating truths. Widespread criticism of his work Abortion in 1965 encouraged Hanson to formulate his social and political views as sculptures. In the following years, and in the spirit of protest movements of the time, he created sculptures that dealt with social misery and violence. From the late 1960s his work shifted to depicting everyday people, with some satirical aspects, creating figures that could be conceived as representative of an entire labour force, class or even a nation.

Beginning with Football Players in 1968, Hanson produced sculptures that represent typical Americans, concentrating on “those that do not stand out”, including Man with Hand Cart (1975), Housepainter (1984/1988) and Policeman (1992/1993), all of which are included in the Serpentine exhibition. The hyper-realistic nature of the sculptures results directly from Hanson’s artistic approach. Using polyester resin, he cast figures from live models in his studio, paying attention to every detail, from body hair to veins and bruises. The sculptures were assembled, adapted and finished meticulously, with the artist hand-picking clothes and accessories.

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Lynette Yiadom-Boakye: Verses After Dusk

Lynette Yiadom-Boakye’s (born 1977, London) oil paintings depict figures that appear to exist outside of a specific time and place. There are very few references to background, history, activity and place of the individuals and groups of figures in her paintings. This ambiguity, which also resonates in the enigmatic titles given to each work, invites the viewer to consider the subjects as suggestions rather than explicit narratives or specific portraits.

At the heart of Yiadom-Boakye’s work is an exploration of the mechanics of painting where she reconstructs the meaning that contemporary painting could hold, in all its unexpected beauty and idiosyncratic details. Yiadom-Boakye’s exhibition at the Serpentine Gallery is a survey of recent work presenting a comprehensive range of painterly techniques, representing the artist’s key series of works. Throughout her work, Yiadom-Boakye has raised timeless questions of identity and representation in art, bringing awareness to such matters and the shortcomings of art history.

Image: Duane Hanson: Housepainter I 1984/1988

Press Contact:
Miles Evans, milese@serpentinegalleries.org

Press Preview: Monday 1 June 10am - 12pm

Serpentine Galleries
Kensington Gardens London
Tue - Sun 10am to 6pm

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