WHITEHOT MAGAZINE PICKS: Channing Hansen: Metaphotical Spectra at Susan Inglett Gallery

Theoneurological Features (2022) by Channing Hansen

By WM October 16th, 2026

Susan Inglett Gallery is pleased to present Metaphotical Spectra, a solo exhibition by Channing Hansen, on view October 22 through November 25, 2026. An opening reception will be held on Thursday, October 22, from 6 to 8 p.m. On November 7 at 2 p.m., the gallery will host a conversation between Hansen and curator and critic Carlo McCormick, exploring Hansen’s artistic process and the art historical theories informing his practice.

Extending Hansen’s sustained investigation into algorithmic systems as “scores” for artistic production, Metaphotical Spectra explores the relationship between light, computation, biology, and metaphysics. Drawing on research into biophotons—ultra-weak light naturally emitted by living organisms—as well as metaphysical concepts of emanation, structure, and containment, Hansen approaches light as both a material phenomenon and a generative process. Through hand-spun, hand-dyed knitted works, he transforms invisible processes into tangible topological planes where order, variation, and material form emerge.

Hansen’s practice examines how complex systems become materially legible. In his Quantum Paintings series, he employed an algorithm based on single-photon emission to guide his compositions. Here, biological and metaphysical frameworks inform an approach in which light functions simultaneously as information, energy, and an organizing principle. The resulting works explore the relationship between photon and code, presenting systems that shape perception while remaining dynamic and ultimately beyond control. Rather than static objects, the works unfold as continuous topological surfaces extending through space-time.

Hansen’s algorithms establish structured frameworks that are subsequently transformed through the interplay of computation and the handmade. Intuition, drift, and irregularity enter the process, complicating the boundaries between programmed systems and organic development. Fibers become conduits analogous to neural or cellular pathways, color emerges as an interference pattern, and irregularities register as signs of growth and metabolic activity rather than conventional compositional decisions. By translating light’s behavior across quantum and metaphysical scales into textile, Hansen makes its generative and organizational capacities perceptible. The exhibition ultimately proposes perception as a property of interconnected systems spanning computation, biology, and metaphysics.

Born in 1972, Hansen explores ideas of connection through abstract knitted forms made from raw fleece sourced from conservation-bred sheep. He processes and dyes the fleece, spins it into yarn, and transforms it through knitting, weaving, and felting. Elaborate computer algorithms guide his designs, bringing craft and computation into dialogue. By uniting technology with handmade processes and environmental concerns, Hansen’s work underscores humanity’s interconnected place in the universe, from the Earth itself to algorithmic systems and the cosmos, while asking what marks we leave behind.

Hansen’s work has been exhibited at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; the Long Beach Museum of Art; Casas Riegner in Bogotá; the Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus; New York University’s Institute of Fine Arts; and the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, among other institutions. His work is held in the permanent collections of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; the Rachofsky Collection in Dallas; the Art Institute of Chicago; the Hammer Museum; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; and the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam.

Exhibition Details

Channing Hansen: Metaphotical Spectra
October 22 – November 25, 2026

Susan Inglett Gallery
522 West 24th Street
New York, NY

Gallery hours: Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.

Opening reception: Thursday, October 22, 6–8 p.m.
Artist conversation with Carlo McCormick: Saturday, November 7, 2 p.m.

For more information, contact Susan Inglett Gallery at 212-647-9111 or info@inglettgallery.com. Follow @susaninglettgallery and @channinghansen on Instagram.