Fulton Mall Public Art

"Talos" - bronze by James Lee Hansen (1925-present)

James Lee Hansen is a native of Tacoma, WA and lives in Vancouver, Washington. He is one of the foremost sculptors of the Pacific Northwest. Hansen taught at Oregon State, UC Berkeley, and Portland State Univeristy. His work has been exhibited at the New York City's Whitney Museum, The Seattle Art Museum, The Portland Art Museum, the Denver Art Museum, and others. He is still active to this day.

Talos (1961) was one of Hansen's most important early works, and part of his "Guardian" series. It was sculpted in clay during Hansen's tenure at UC Berkeley, and later cast in Hansen's Washington studio. Talos takes its name from ancient Greek mythology. According to the Greeks, Talos was a large bronze man given to King Minos of Crete by Zeus to serve as a watchman over the Agean island.

Hansen's is an abstract bronze sculpture which draws inspiration from this classical tradition. For many years, Talos stood at the western entry to the Merced Street part of the Fulton Mall. In recent years, the statue was removed after being damaged, and is no longer on public display. in 2010, Hansen's sculpture Winter Rider No. 2, was installed on Portland's Transit Mall. His 1977 sculpture, Talos No 2 is on display in Portland at Southwest 6th Avenue and Stark Street.

Former location: Fulton Mall at Merced