Following his solo exhibition in Los Angeles earlier this year, Hugh Hayden continues his exploration of the prosthetics of power, presenting a new series of work in a site-specific installation created for New York. Known for his examination of the American experience and symbolic investigation of everyday life using organic material, Hayden engages with recurring themes in his practice and provides deeper inquiry into topics of revelation, intimacy, desire, and sexuality. The exhibition coincides with Hayden's much anticipated 10-year survey exhibition, 'Hugh Hayden: American Vernacular', which opens at Laumeier Sculpture Park in Saint Louis, Missouri in February. A major solo exhibition will also open at the Rose Museum of Art at Brandeis University in the Fall of 2024.
Hugh Hayden’s practice considers the anthropomorphisation of the natural world as a visceral lens for exploring the human condition. Hayden transforms familiar objects through a process of selection, carving and juxtaposition to challenge our perceptions of ourselves, others and the environment. Raised in Texas and trained as an architect, his work arises from a deep connection to nature and its organic materials. Hayden utilizes wood as his primary medium, frequently loaded with multi-layered histories in their origin, including objects as varied as discarded trunks, rare indigenous timbers, Christmas trees or souvenir African sculptures. From these he saws, sculpts and sands the wood, often combining disparate species, creating new composite forms that also reflect their complex cultural backgrounds. Crafting metaphors for human existence and past experience, Hayden’s work questions the stasis of social dynamics and asks the viewer to examine their place within an ever-shifting ecosystem.
Established in 1967 in London, Lisson Gallery is one of the most well-known galleries operating globally. Boasting an influential and continuing legacy, including playing a pivotal role in the careers of many pioneers of historically important art movements, the gallery works with some of the most significant contemporary artists today.
