Oskar Hansen

Born 1922 in Helsinki. Died 2005. Polish architect, theoretician, painter, educator.

Studied at the Faculty of Mechanical Technology at the University of Vilnius and Warsaw University of Technology Faculty of Architecture (degree in 1951 at Romuald Gutt). In 1948, he went to Paris where he studied painting with Fernand Léger. He practiced architecture with Pierre Jeanneret. From 1955 he was a lecturer, and since 1967 a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. His teaching theories and (especially Open Form theory has had a huge influence on his students, among others, Gregory Kowalski, Zofia Kulik, Elizabeth Cieslar, Emil Cieslar, Victor Gutt and others. In 1957, solo exhibition. In 2005, the retrospective exhibition "Towards the open form" ("Ku formie otwartej") in National Gallery of Art (Warsaw).

Developed Open Form theory. He developed the concept of urban development of cities the future ("The continuous linear system (LCD) and "Continuous Form"). His theories are used in the BAS (Bergen School of Architecture) in Bergen in Norway, founded in 1983 by his disciple Svein Hatløy.

Literature

• Oskar Hansen "Ku formie otwartej", red. Jola Gola, układ graficzny Oskar Hansen, Fundacja Galerii Foksal (Warszawa), Revolver (Frankfurt), we współpracy z Muzeum ASP w Warszawie, 2005.
• Oskar Hansen, "Towards Open Form / Ku Formie Otwartej". Frankfurt am Main: Revolver, 2005. Paperback 256 pages / ISBN 83-89302-07-1. reviews: [1], [2]. The non-textual introduction is an iteration from the Polish catalogue for the 1960 Milan Triennal. 'Bridging' the book's two parts are interviews with the artist: Joanna Mytkowska's in the first part, and fragments of Hans Ulrich Obrist's in the second. Oskar Hansen died on May 11, 2005, after work on this book had been completed and it had been sent to press. The book has been left unchanged.'

http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oskar_Hansen