Hanno Ahrens (1954–2016) was a sculptor whose work explored relationships among natural materials, mythology and spiritual symbolism. Ahrens earned an M.F.A. in 1982 from the University of California, Davis. After leaving Davis, Ahrens established his career in New York, creating sculptures and installations from wood, plaster and found materials. He was particularly drawn to massive timbers and discarded materials whose physical histories remained visible in the finished work. In 1986, Ahrens received a National Endowment for the Arts Visual Artists Fellowship in sculpture and was included in Selections from the Artists File at Artists Space in New York, where his work was described as reinterpreting spiritual imagery through contemporary forms. Later in life, Ahrens lived and worked in Northern California, continuing to make large-scale wood sculpture closely connected to landscape and nature.