Holly Hendry
Holly Hendry’s allusion to the skin as the visible ‘container’ of the body is combined with cartoon-like illustrations of anatomy, food and detritus. The artist’s projects often directly reference scientific research. Through collaboration with scientists and by conducting her own experimentation, Hendry engages with subjects such as material re-use and how the skin functions as both a barrier and a material that facilitates connection.
Hendry’s first solo show in the USA will take place at SCAD Museum of Art, Savannah, Georgia, USA in 2024. A new outdoor sculpture by the artist was unveiled this autumn in Esch-Alzette, Luxembourg as part of Esch2022 for the European Capital of Culture. A second public work will be completed later this year at STEAMhouse, Belmont Works building, commissioned by Eastside Projects in partnership with Birmingham City University, Birmingham, England.
An exhibition of new works and a large-scale outdoor commission by the artist opened at De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill-on-Sea in May 2021. Hendry had a solo exhibition at Yorkshire Sculpture Park titled ‘The Dump is Full of Images’ in September 2019. Her installation ‘Deep Soil Thrombosis’ was included in the Biennale de Lyon 2019. In 2018, Hendry was chosen by Helen Pheby, Head of Curatorial Programme at Yorkshire Sculpture Park and Selfridges, as the inaugural artist for the co-curated Art Block in Selfridges’ flagship store in London. The artist created the monumental sculpture ‘Cenotaph’ for the Liverpool Biennial in the same year. The work was included in the Biennial’s touring programme and shown at The Tetley, Leeds, in June 2019.
Hendry was born in 1990 in London, where she continues to live and work. She gained her BA Fine Art at The Slade School of Fine Art (2013) and her MA Sculpture at the Royal College of Art (2016).
Other notable solo projects include ‘Fatty Acids’, Stephen Friedman Gallery, London (2022); ‘GUM SOULS’, Frutta, Rome (2018); ‘For a Skeleton to Hang Soft Tissue On’, Arratia Beer, Berlin (2017); ‘The Box’, Pippy Houldsworth Gallery, London (2017); ‘Wrot’, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead (2017) and Sharjah Art Foundation, Sharjah (2014). Her work was also included in ‘Breaking the Mould: Sculpture by Women since 1945’, an Arts Council touring exhibition which opened at Longside Gallery, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield in 2021. Other group exhibitions include ‘Subversive Tenderness’, FRAC, Centre-Val de Loire, Orléans (2022); ‘Beano: The Art of Breaking Rules’, Somerset House, London (2021) and ‘Female Objectivity: A Perspective of the Marval Collection’, Castello di Villanterio, Pavia, Lombardy (2021).Her work can be found in significant public collections including the Arts Council, British Council and Government Art Collections, UK and FRAC Grand Large, Dunkirk, France.