Al Hansen (1927-1995) - Gold Venus

Al Hansen (1927 - 1995), Gold Venus, 1991.

Collage. Gold foil on black cardboard. 35 x 24.8 cm, signed and dated in pencil on the right. Verso with four double-sided tape pieces.

Provenance: Private collection, Berlin.

Condition: Very good. Minor abrasion on the cardboard. The illustrations are part of the condition description.

The collage “Gold Venus” was created in 1991 as part of the rare Art Matrix edition and belongs to Al Hansen’s famous Venus cycle, a central body of work in his late Fluxus period. With its Venus depictions composed from gold paper, found materials, and collage elements, Hansen linked the iconography of the Willendorf Venus with the experimental visual language of the Fluxus movement, producing some of his most sought-after works of the 1990s.

Al Hansen (1927–1995) was an American Fluxus artist, pioneer of happenings, and one of the most influential figures in the international avant-garde of the 20th century. A student of composer John Cage, he since the 1950s developed an interdisciplinary practice of collages, assemblages, performances, experimental films, and artist’s books that deliberately dissolved the boundaries between art and everyday life. He gained international recognition especially for his layered Venus collages, in which he merged the Willendorf Venus motif with found materials, gold foil, and elements of pop culture. His works have been shown worldwide and are now in prestigious public and private collections. Al Hansen is regarded as one of the defining protagonists of the Fluxus movement and a key precursor of contemporary conceptual and performance art.