Frieze New York

Exploring the idiosyncrasies of the human body, Hendry’s site-responsive sculptures and installations take formal inspiration from diverse sources such as food, machinery and anatomical diagrams. Addressing ideas of materiality and permeability, her works turn familiar structures inside out to reveal complex systems. Saturated with bright colours, the artist’s visual language is underpinned by a playful, cartoonish humour. 

For Frieze New York, Hendry recomposes the familiar, mundane image of an office cubicle – covered haphazardly with notes and to-do lists – to explore the emotional and physical workings of the body. Pinned or taped to the wall, the pieces of paper transform into absurd depictions of medical diagnoses and involuntary processes such as blushing, sighing and digestion. Challenging expectations of what materials can do, this new series incorporates blown glass, Jesmonite, ceramic, steel, wood, cast bronze, stone and aluminium.

Describing the installation, Hendry says:

“The sculptures are objects that appear to exist halfway between a paper note and an X-ray. They convey something that feels quite instinctive or immediate, like a written reminder to yourself or a passing feeling or memory – a literal pin up in sculptural form. Most of the works incorporate new elements of cast metal or glass, so there is a tension between permanence and impermanence: a scrappy note of ‘things to do’ fossilised in metal, or an internal gut movement held in convulsion through the liquid shape of blown glass.”

The presentation coincides with the artist’s first institutional solo exhibition in the US at SCAD Museum of Art, Savannah, Georgia. In February this year, a major new commission was installed at Hayward Gallery, London for the group exhibition ‘When Forms Come Alive’. An expansive outdoor sculpture commissioned by theCoLAB was installed at The Artist’s Garden on the roof of Temple Underground station, London in July 2023.