Hugh Hayden: Home Work

Through his remarkable sculptural practice, Hugh Hayden (b. 1983, Dallas, TX) has established himself as a leading artist of his generation. Hugh Hayden: Home Work, the artist’s first solo exhibition in New England, surveys Hayden’s extensive body of work over the last decade, including a bold, site-responsive installation newly conceived for the Rose Art Museum. Home Work focuses on the artist’s exploration of the “American Dream,” its pathways, and architecture. Hayden states, “All of my work is about the American dream, whether it’s a table that’s hard to sit at or a thorny school desk. It’s a dream that is seductive but difficult to inhabit.”

Known for sculptures inspired by regional craft-based furniture and objects, Hayden’s work evokes aspects of African American identity and ways in which history and stereotypes pervade American culture today. Divided into five sections—“The Uncanny Home,” “Soul Food,” “Skeletons in the Closet,” “Playing the Field,” and “Higher Education”—Hugh Hayden: Home Work exposes and confronts the realization that discomfort—and even danger—often lurk within the confines of our most intimate spaces.

Hugh Hayden: Home Work is curated by Dr. Gannit Ankori, Henry and Lois Foster and Chief Curator of the Rose Art Museum and Professor of Fine Arts and Women’s, Gender and Sexuality at Brandeis University, and Dr. Sarah Montross, Chief Curator of the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum.