Artworks by Paul Hansen — painted directly on the walls and destroyed at the end of the exhibit — are offered for “sale” as a donation to the Guild of Creative Art, beginning this Sunday.
For his 2016 solo display of new paintings at the Guild of Creative Art, Paul Hansen has taken an approach that’s more than a little bit offbeat, even for an artist who professes that his exhibits tend to be of “a metaphysical nature.”
Beginning with a reception this Sunday afternoon, November 6, Hansen will be offering for sale a selection of never-before-exhibited paintings, with all sale proceeds to be donated to the programs and operations of the venerable Guild. All well and fine, certainly — but what truly sets apart the installation called “This Too Shall Pass” is the fact that the paintings have been brushed directly on the walls, right onto the sheetrock, and will only be visible for the duration of the event that continues through November 30.
After that, the paintings will be “gone forever (not unlike N.R. McShane’s works, lost in a terrible fire)” according to Hansen, whose solicitation of buyers for the art is being made with the understanding that (a) the artist is not pocketing any of the profits, and (b) the sale transaction is in effect a donation to the long-running collective that “has truly been the conduit for my art.”
As Hansen explains, “There has been placed next to each painting a ballot box. I am asking for you to vote for your favorite work in the form of a donation. Place a mere dollar or whatever you see fit in the box. One hundred percent of all funds will go directly to keeping the Guild of Creative Arts’ doors open to the public.”
Hours for Sunday’s reception are between 3 to 5 p.m., with the exhibit remaining on display through the month during regular gallery hours (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; Thursday 8 a.m.-6 p.m.; Saturday 10 a.m.-3 p.m.), with free admission and on-site parking at all times.
