Hardy Hanson

Hardy Hanson was one of the first artists to work with Tyler when he opened Gemini Ltd in 1965. The pair met at a party in Los Angeles and found they had much in common: Tyler had been working with Josef Albers at Tamarind, and Hanson was a former student of Albers. Hanson’s lithograph Peculiar evolution was used as an advertisement for the new print shop’s subscription program and sent to collectors around the United States. Hanson also designed the Gemini chop mark: the distinctive twin symbol that stands for the lithographic marriage between oil and water. When Tyler moved to the east coast in 1974 Hanson designed the logo for TGL: a symbol based on two sheets of folded paper reminiscent of Albers’ work, and one that Albers admired.

Hanson spent much of his life as a professor of art and his teaching informed his own making. While he experimented widely, creating large, intricate wall reliefs using found objects, Hanson maintained a printmaking practice and operated his own hardground press. The four print editions that Hanson produced with Tyler are indicative of a keen graphic sensibility. In Crusadist and Peculiar evolution intricate line work creates a feeling of reverberation across the surface of the prints, while in The prophet of justice and Vault for the deposit of justice blocks of bold colour are softened with subtle tonal variations.

Emilie Owens

Biographical information about Hardy Hanson is limited. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Yale University, where he studied under Josef Albers. He was a teacher for much of his life, and held positions at the San Fernando Valley State College, the University of Southern California and the University of California’s Santa Cruz campus, where he is listed as Professor Emeritus in art.

1934 Born

1964 Solo exhibition, Rex Evans Gallery, Los Angeles

1965 Produces the following print editions at Gemini GEL, Los Angeles: Vault for the deposit of justice, The prophet of justice, Crusadist and Holy One

1966 Solo exhibition at Rex Evans Gallery, Los Angeles

2007 Solo exhibition, Hardy Hanson: a suite of etchings on the theme of mask, Fresno Art Museum, Fresno, California

2012 Hardy Hanson died in Santa Cruz, California

Emilie Owens, 2007
This chronology provides an overview of selected biographical information, major solo and group exhibitions held within the artist's own lifetime.

NATIONAL GALLERY PUBLICATIONS

• Workshop: The Kenneth Tyler Collection, Jane Kinsman (ed.), 2015