Minor Matters Books

Elias Hansen: Even Crooks Have To Pay The Rent

Elias Hansen’s Even Crooks Have To Pay The Rent documents selections from Hansen’s solo and collaborative efforts over the last decade. Raw, f*#k-you funny, always and never quite what they seem, his works, from parking-lot structures to delicate glass vials filled with natural elements, defy categorization and stimulate conversation as well as controversy. 

Hansen, whose parents are book binders, decided to explore the self-publication of a book of his work and commissioned Small Editions NYC, under the guidance of Corina Reynolds, to begin working with him on execution of his vision. A few months into this process, he was contacted by Michelle Dunn Marsh of Minor Matters, who had him on a hit list of artists and friends to approach; she first met Eli through his brother Oscar Tuazon, when both were working at the Museum of Glass, Tacoma, and got to know him and his artmaking better through exhibitions and outdoor beer consumption at the Lawrimore Project in Seattle.

The resultant publication is, in keeping with much of Hansen’s practice, a rollicking collaboration—art directed by Eli with Small Editions, with the editorial and design finesse of Minor Matters. The book is organized by exhibition, in chronological order, with essays by Hansen’s friends and collaborators.

Elias Hansen grew up on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State, and now resides in upstate New York with his wife and daughter. More

Contributors include: Oscar Tuazon, Michael Darling, Jessica Powers, Matt Browning, Rebar Niemi, Simon Jaynes, J. Jefferson Ross, and Blair Hansen. More