Arts

Reclaiming

beauty Anthony Hansen is as much an archeologist as he is an artist and his skills for digging up and transforming the distressed are proving to be a thing of beauty.

Old, beat-up and abandoned cars have something to say, and Anthony Hansen is listening. Wandering down the aisles of local junk yards, Hansen studies worn out jalopies much the same way a jeweler analyzes a rare stone. “There’s a lot of life in one piece. It has its own story, its own history. And then they are cobbled together into this new thing, this new life,” he explains. “And, I don’t paint anything. I really like the texture, the color, the faded aspect of the original.” Although Hansen designs an array of abstract pieces using only the simplest set of tools in his Morro Bay studio, it’s the hearts that have sent customers aflutter. “People often ask me why the hearts? I tell them that we need to start loving each other more—we’ve got too many guns, too much testosterone in the world,” he states matter-of-factly. “Plus I like the organic, feminine, curvy nature of the heart combined with the supermasculine, discarded, heavy industrial lines and textures that you get from reclaimed metal. Those two together—I love that.” And when he is not busy cutting, shaping, welding, and sanding, he is on the road. Last year alone, Hansen crisscrossed the country attending 15 national art shows in cities spanning from Atlanta to Portland. Currently, he is packing his cargo van for a trip to Miami where he will attend four Florida-based shows. And it’s not just a matter of making the trip because exhibiting, as it turns out, is highly competitive. The jury of artists in St. Louis, who determine who will be invited to that show, for example, received 8,000 applications for 200 spots this year. And, since a new application is required each year, Hansen never knows for sure where the road will take him. But, as he points out, there are always junkyards along the way full of old cars hoping to share their stories.

HEARTS are the most popular part of his collection. Cobbling together pieces of junked cars, Hansen breathes new life into a universally hopeful symbol that requires no explanation.

INDEFINITE comes from Hansen’s abstract collection, the fastest growing part of his art.

GETTING EVEN reveals Hansen’s wry sense of humor, as the piece is comprised of nothing but even numbers from discarded license plates. SLO LIFE