'Hugh Hayden: American Vernacular' at the Frye Art Museum, Seattle, WA, United States

2 June 2025

From 28 June – 28 September 2025, the Frye Art Museum presents 'American Vernacular', Hugh Hayden’s first solo museum presentation on the West Coast.

In the exhibition, the complexities of identity, desire, and belonging are explored through meticulously crafted and darkly humorous wooden sculptures and multimedia installations. From tree bark-hewn designer shoes to basketball hoops woven from grain stalks, the artist’s works reveal how everyday objects reflect the values and tensions of our society. Centred around thematic touchstones like athletics, food, fashion, and childhood, Hayden’s art provokes us to rethink the ordinary and explore how “vernacular” items carry multifaceted stories that encompass the joy, pain, and resilience woven into the fabric of American life.

Find out more via the Frye Art Museum.

Image: Hugh Hayden, Harlem, 2024, 24 karat gold plated cast iron, copper pots and brass instruments, stainless steel, 182.9 x 248.9 x 76.2 cm, 72 x 98 x 30 in, © Hugh Hayden, Courtesy Lisson Gallery.