“Hans K Clausen’s studio is a wunderkammer writ large. From his collection of objects, found and sourced, Clausen attempts to make sense of our world, he states his practice is: ‘an enquiry into the meaning making of life, how we employ objects to punctuate our lives or to escape from them.’
With an art degree added to social work and health care careers, Clausen frequently takes his practice ‘into the community’ applying his working approach to projects that help others to define their place or make sense of their circumstances. In his work he frequently stands toe to toe with the big three; birth, life and death, in tackling these universal themes I would argue that Clausen advocates understanding over escape.”
Gordon Munro, Assistant Director, Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop (Coup de’Theatre, 2017)
“I am interested in the ‘thingness’ of things; in the visual vocabularies, narrative qualities and emotive associations of ubiquitous objects. The interaction between people and their material culture is a recurring area of enquiry in my work; how we look, how we read visual language, how we make sense of our material world and how the stuff that surrounds us becomes us.
I am intrigued by the provenance, meaning and power of objects and by the forces of materialism, marketing, consumerism and obsolescence. Through the language of ‘stuff’ my work attempts to examine the relationship between artist, object and viewer and to challenge conventional notions of authorship and ownership, production and consumption, making and creating ”
Hans K Clausen
Exhibitions
2022 (December) Scottish Society of Artists annual Show, Royal Scottish Academy
2021 (November) ‘How many times must a man look up’ NOMAS and University of Dundee
2019 (October) St Columba’s Hospice, Edinburgh
2019 (April) Hand to Hand, British Art Medal Society, Glasgow
2019 (March) Cascade, University of Edinburgh, COL staff exhibition
2018 (Dec) Scottish Society of Artists Annual Show, Royal Scottish Academy
2018 (August) Anatomy of Fleeting Moments, Anatomical Museum, Edinburgh Art Festival
2017 (Dec) The People’s Museum of Memory and Myth, Permanent Commission, NHS.
2017 (Aug) Iron: Origins and Destinations, Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop
2016 (Dec) Coup de Theatre, Summerhall, Edinburgh
2016 (Oct) Collector, curated by Hans K Clausen for Arcadeum, Whitespace, Edinburgh
2016 (July) Far Enough, Kulturzentrum Klosterkirche, Angermunde, Germany
2016 (Jan) On the Circus, Doubtfire Gallery, Edinburgh
2015 (March) – What Remains, (two artist show), Generator Gallery, Dundee
2015 (February) – Selected Group Exhibition, Urbane Art Gallery, Edinburgh
2015 (February) – VAS:T 2015 , Visual Arts Scotland, National Galleries, Edinburgh
2014 (December) – ‘So Much Depends Upon …’, for Nil by Mouth, Tent Gallery, Edinburgh
2014 (November) – ‘So Much Depends Upon …’, for Nil by Mouth, Scottish Parliament
2014 (June) – Summer Exhibition 2014, Caol Ruadh, Scottish Sculpture Park, Argyll
2014 (March) – LSA 25th Anniversary Exhibition, Dovecot Gallery, Edinburgh
2013 (August) – CroatiaScotia, for Edinburgh Art Festival, Doubtfire Gallery, Edinburgh
2013 (July) – Slice, The Whisky Bond, Glasgow
2013 (March) – Society of Scottish Artists Annual Show, Edinburgh RSA Galleries
2012 (December) – Royal Scottish Academy Open, RSA Galleries, Edinburgh
2012 (October) – Signature Art Prize, Gala Exhibition, London -Winner
2012 (July) – Falling, Tent Gallery, Edinburgh
2012 (June) – ECA Graduate Show 2012, Edinburgh College of Art
Artist Residencies
2015 (March) – 2019 (March). Arcadeum, NHS Lothian, Edinburgh and Lothian’s Health Foundation and North Edinburgh Arts. Community Artist in Residence and Public Art Commission for development of a new Community Partnership Health Centre.
2017 (March) – 2018 (Dec.) Where it Hurts + Where it Heals, Commission for public engagement workshops and exhibitions for the Art and Design programme for the ‘new’ Royal Hospital for Children, Edinburgh. NHS Lothian and Ginkgo.
2017 (Feb.) – 2018 (Sept.) Highlighter, Foundation Scotland and Spirit of Dumbiedykes. Residency and community engagement public art project, Edinburgh.
2014 (Jan. – Sept.) – YoHoArt, Yorkhill Children’s Hospital and Glasgow Gallery of Modern Art. Taking contemporary art practice into the hospital community.
2013 (Nov) – 2014 (Nov) Nil by Mouth, Creative Scotland and Crichton Carbon Centre. An art and science project exploring sustainability, included 5 weeks in the Outer Hebrides
2014 (February – April) Outside-Insight, Lomond View School, Inverclyde Council. An outdoor project with young people excluded from full time education, building art interventions and shelters using found materials.
2012 (Oct) – 2013 (June) When One Door Closes, Mearns Education Centre, Greenock. Nine month residency in a special education unit resulting in a multi media exhibition turning the closing school into a temporary gallery.
Prizes/Awards/Commissions
2022 (August) Brushes with History, Scottish Arts Club, Sculpture Commission
2020 – 2024 NHS Forth Valley Organ Donation Committee; ‘Everyone Everyday Evermore’ A permanent sculpture commission for the atrium of Forth Valley Royal Hospital
2017 (December – completed). NHS Lothian/Edinburgh Lothian Health Foundation; permanent sculpture commission for Pennywell All Care Centre, North Edinburgh. The People’s Museum of Memory and Myth. (www.pmmm.co.uk)
2013 (December) Featured Artist, Glass Magazine, Avant Art (London)
2013 (January) Selected Artist, Catlin Art Guide 2013, (London)
2013 (January) Invited Graduate Artist, Society of Scottish Artists, RSA, Edinburgh
2012 (October) Signature Art Prize, Winner (Sculpture), Degree Art, London
2012 (June) Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop, Graduate Studio Award, Edinburgh
Publications
2019 The People’s Museum of Memory and Myth, with G. Ryan, Creative ScotlanD
2017 Public Institution as Material, Publicness in Art, (Issue 3) with K. Bruce and S. Barr, Revista MESA. Editors Gogan and Vergara.
2017 Imaginations Interiors Surfaces, Knowing from the Inside, Editor E.A. Hodson, University of Aberdeen Publication