Hugh Hayden

Hugh Hayden’s practice considers the anthropomorphization 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.

Hugh Hayden was born in Dallas, Texas in 1983 and lives and works in New York City. He holds an MFA from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Architecture from Cornell University. He has had solo exhibitions at The Princeton University Art Museum in New Jersey in 2020 and at White Columns in New York in 2018. His work has been included in numerous group exhibitions including Sculpture Center, New York, NY, USA (2021); Hayward Gallery, London, UK (2020); The Shed, New York, NY, USA(2019); Pilot Projects, Philadelphia, PA, USA (2018); Sundance Film Festival, Park City, UT, USA (2015); MoMA PS1, Rockaway Beach, New York, NY, USA (2014); Socrates Sculpture Park, New York, NY, USA (2014); and Abrons Art Center, New York, NY, USA (2013), among others. He is the recipient of residencies at Glenfiddich in Dufftown, Scotland (2014); Abrons Art Center and Socrates Sculpture Park (both 2012), and Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (2011).

Hugh Hayden
The Jones Part 3

2018
Sculpted eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana) with steel 199.4 x 457.2 x 67.9 cm 78 1/2 x 180 x 26 3/4 in

Hugh Hayden
Pulpit

2019
Palmer’s Cocoa Butter and flocking on American black walnut with PA system 183 x 122 x 40.6 cm 72 x 48 x 15 7/8 in

Hugh Hayden
Hedges

2019
Sculpted wood, lumber, hardware, mirror and carpet 365.8 x 528.3 x 528.3 cm 144 x 208 x 208 in

Hugh Hayden
America

2018
Sculpted mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa) on plywood

Hugh Hayden
Crown of Thorns

2020
Welded steel 20.3 x 34 x 27 cm 8 x 13 3/8 x 10 5/8 in

Hugh Hayden
Can't We All Just Get Along

2020
Hornbeam with steel hardware and oak dowels 206 x 362 x 254 cm 81 x 142 1/2 x 100 in

Hugh Hayden
Can't We All Just Get Along

2020
Hornbeam with steel hardware and oak dowels 206 x 362 x 254 cm 81 x 142 1/2 x 100 in

Hugh Hayden
Jazz 4

2019
Seasoned cast iron 58.4 x 25.7 x 7.6 cm 23 x 10 1/8 x 3 in

Hugh Hayden
Jazz 4

2019
Seasoned cast iron 58.4 x 25.7 x 7.6 cm 23 x 10 1/8 x 3 in

Hugh Hayden
Talented and Gifted / Passing

2021
Gabon ebony (heartwood and sapwood)
84.5 x 154.9 x 73.7 cm
33 1/4 x 61 x 29 in

Hugh Hayden
What's going on?

2022

Copper coated cast iron
Installed: 69.2 x 67 x 22.9 cm
Installed: 27 1/4 x 26 3/8 x 9 in

Hugh Hayden
Fee-fi-fo-fum

2021
Smilax rotundifolia (common greenbier)
299.7 x 274.3 x 72.4 cm
118 x 108 x 28 1/2 in

Hugh Hayden
Eden

2022
Bent Laminated Cedar with Steel
76.2 x 91.4 x 50.8 cm
30 x 36 x 20 in

Hugh Hayden
Cinderella

2021
Smilax rotundifolia (common greenbrier) and rattan
123.2 x 139.7 x 35.6 cm
48 1/2 x 55 x 14 in

Hugh Hayden

Exhibitions