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
Zelig
2013
Sharptail grouse feathers on logs.
Installation view, "Among the Trees", 2020, Hayward Gallery, London. (Photo: Mark Blower)
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
