MARKUS HANSEN: OTHER PEOPLE’S FEELINGS ARE ALSO MY OWN—SOUL DRAWINGS

September 2 - December 2

Opening Reception, Friday, October 12

Markus Hansen, Other People’s Feelings are Also My Own—Soul Drawings, digital projection. Series #1,2,3; 3 cycles of 23 portraits. Courtesy the artist and Cristin Tiereny Gallery, NY.

Markus Hansen, a Paris-based, German-born artist, pairs a likeness of himself with the image of another person whom he tries to resemble as closely as possible. By dressing like and adopting the facial expression and posture of his partner subjects, he looks—in a startling way— just like them, regardless of their race, gender, or age. However, as the dual portraits progress through the digital slide show, it becomes poignantly clear that Hansen uncannily portrays, in his own image, the emotional rather than physical likeness of his subject. Hansen has said, “These portraits are about how we inhabit each other, reside in each other, and how we always leave traces in each other.” Through this exhibition, the artist asks us to consider what we have in common with other people rather than simply insist on what divides us.

This exhibition is supported in part by a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts. Contributions from the John Michael Kohler Arts Center’s loyal corporate, foundation, and individual donors have also been vital. The Arts Center expresses its deep gratitude to all of these donors as well as to Markus Hansen and Cristin Tiereny Gallery, NY. The John Michael Kohler Arts Center is grateful to its dedicated board members, volunteers, and staff.