Karl Heinz Hansen-Bahia (actually Karl Heinz Hansen) counts among the most important painters and graphic artists of a post-war figuration.
The trained painter was a self-taught artist to a large extent and made his first woodcuts as of 1946. This technique remained Karl Heinz Hansen-Bahia's favorite means of expression, and he attained great expressivity and narrativity. Time-critical and religious prints as well as series of woodcuts are a focal point of his oeuvre.
In 1949 Karl Heinz Hansen emigrates to Brazil, where he was given the honorable sobriquet "Bahia" by the author Jorge Amado. In 1963 Karl Heinz Hansen-Bahia was appointed professor at the art academy in Addis Abeba, Ethiopia, before he returned to his adopted country.
Numerous exhibitions in Brazil, Italy and Germany since the 1960s are proof of his international rank. The Hansen-Bahia-Foundation in Sao Felix and the Karl Heinz Hansen-Bahia-Museum in Cachoeira were supported by the German Federal Government.