Portrait of artist painter Simon Cato Spang-Hanssen
conversation, description, inspirations, the artist at work, short videos from exhibitions and concerts.
Filmed at the Basement Art Studio (artist collective by Rithva Landler and S.C.S.H.), and
at Broendsalen, Frederiksberg DK during the collective exhibition "Mens Vi Venter på Noa"
video by Tiny House Productions

Simon Cato Spang-Hanssen
painter, musician and composer
Born in Copenhagen, DK in 1955
Started out painting in 1967, originally inspired by the impressionists he quickly discovers Kandinsky, Klee, Miró…By the end of the seventies the music took over, and he worked, and still works, as a saxophonist and composer in an great number of contexts (jazz etc.), mostly in Denmark and France (where he lived from 1985-98).
From 2002 he rejoined the visual arts, first exhibition took place in the cd-store the Jazz Cellar entitled “Music Makers”, a mix of oil painting and gouache, with influences from African and Oceanic art, Picasso, Braque, Wifredo Lam, COBRA, …
Exhibitions: RAKU Gallery, Gallery Arleth, Gallery Pialeh, Sometimes Studio (Paris), Basement Art
Studio, Frederiksberg Town Hall, KU.BE, Lyngby Town Library, Broendsalen, numerous arts associations in enterprises (Minerva, Danish Ministry of Education, Bang and Olufsen, BASF...)

Simon Spang-Hanssen - born in 1955
Visual artist, saxophonist and composer.
“The Paintings of Simon Spang-Hanssen invites the viewer to a magical and adventurous journey, in which the changeable, imaginative and fascinating merge. The paintings moves, activates and engages the viewer. With colourful expression and playful forms the paintings becomes alive with poetic and humorous expression. The simple, yet expressive means, testifies that the ingenuity and creativity is not only reserved for his career in music. Colours and forms in the paintings are combined in aesthetic relations, and the volatile gesticulations of organic and lyrical brush strokes relates to the bouncing rhythms and improvisational freedom of jazz music. Simon Spang-Hanssen is inspired by, among others, Picasso, Kandinsky, Miró...but it is clear, that in his works, he has found his own timbre, his style, which serves his individual artistic expression."

Text: Cilia Espeland , art historian (DK)

Conversation with Rithva Landler

Participating musicians in order of appearance

Ayi Solomon, percussion
Maher Mahmoud, oud
Yasser Morejon Pino, bass
Simon Spang-Hanssen, saxophones
Mariane Bitran, flute
Ricardo Fiúza, piano
Enéias Xavier, bass
Mauro Martins, drums