Phil Hansen

“We need to first be limited in order to become limitless.” – Phil Hansen

Referred to by his fans as “the Artist for the People,” Phil Hansen is an internationally recognized multimedia artist, speaker, author and innovator — at the forefront of bringing art to a wider audience. Crashing irreverently through conventional boundaries, Phil works at the intersection of traditional art, electronic media, offbeat materials, and interactive experiences. He is most widely known for his meta-art, videos that document the creation process (sometimes even through destruction), showing millions that art is action, not just result. Hansen’s work also extends deeply into traditional media with features on the Discovery Channel, Good Morning America, the Rachael Ray Show, Last Call with Carson Daly, Glamour and many more. His work is sought-after by many influential clients including the Grammy Awards, Disney, Skype, Mazda and the Rockefeller Foundation.

For the tens of millions who have seen Phil’s art on TV and online, it’s hard to imagine that his artistic journey nearly came to an end when a tremor developed in his drawing hand. In exploring new ways to create art, Phil discovered that by embracing his shake, limitations could become the passageway to creativity.

His inspirational story was first shared on the TED stage to a standing ovation, and then shared around the world including on PBS, BBC and CCTV. Now, Phil’s ability to draw parallels to the business setting has won him followers among industry and business leaders, leading to invitations to speak at the TED2013 conference, Adobe MAX Creativity Conference, World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates, and the Million Dollar Round Table.

At the request of some of his speaking clients, Phil has designed a unique art experience beyond the talk. Companies who are seeking an unforgettable interactive experience for their audience are absolutely stunned by its originality, value and effect. “A number of years ago at our sales meeting we had a very expensive performance painter present. I can say that the impact of Phil’s talk with the fingerprint art project provided much more impact and value. Being able to connect all employees to a single work of art is absolutely incredible.” – Bethany Quam, General Mills President, Convenience & Foodservice Division

Besides speaking and doing art, Phil is an advocate for advancing art education. He’s the author of Tattoo a Banana, a guide to exploring creativity through art with everyday materials. And he’s the founder of Goodbye-Art Academy, providing high quality and free art education videos to teachers and students everywhere.