CHANNING HANSEN
Marc Selwyn Fine Art is pleased to announce Fluid Dynamics, an exhibition of new work by Los Angeles–based artist Channing Hansen.
Channing Hansen’s intricately knitted works reveal a commitment to process. The artist is intimately involved with each step of their creation—from acquiring the raw fleece, to dyeing the fiber, to spinning the yarn (a complex mixture of wool, alpaca, silk, mohair and, in some cases, holographic polymers), to knitting and stretching the textiles over frames. In addition to Hansen’s deep knowledge of his materials, the artist brings his longstanding engagement with technology to bear on his work. Changes in color, pattern, stitch, and shape are dictated by computer algorithms that are themselves determined by organic patterns and scientific processes. In fact, Hansen conceives of these works as “fractal collages” which merge mathematical and natural phenomena.
The works in this exhibition represent Hansen’s efforts at breaking the grid structure and raster-like pattern of most textiles through an exploration of fluid dynamics and fractal geometry. Inspired in part by artist Alberto Burri, who was influenced by his experience as a surgeon, Hansen explains that “the construction of these works is partly based on surgery theory, which is akin to collage in higher dimensional space. It involves cutting and pasting and swapping various parts of a topological surface called a ‘manifold.’”
Channing Hansen (born 1972, Los Angeles) is included in the collections of the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; the Frederick R. Weisman Foundation, Los Angeles; and the Ahmanson Foundation, Los Angeles, among others. He was also featured in group exhibitions including Made in LA 2014 at the Hammer Museum; 99 cents or less at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Detroit; Knowledges at Mount Wilson Observatory, Los Angeles; When the Sun Hits at The Pit Gallery, Los Angeles; Intertwined, The Institute of Fine Arts, New York University; Organic Synthetic at Glendale College Art Gallery; and The Word Today, Supportico Lopez, Berlin. Hansen lives and works in Los Angeles.