Stephen Hendee (b. 1968, California, USA) is an innovative sculptor renowned for creating large-scale installations that challenge traditional notions of space and form. Drawing inspiration from the world of digital culture, he is widely regarded as a pioneer of the low-poly aesthetic. Through his work, he translates the vectorized properties of digital design into physical materials, creating real-world simulations of virtual reality spaces.
Hendee's constructed works often reference film and literature, adding an extra layer of depth to his already multifaceted installations. He has exhibited his work at prestigious venues such as the PS.1 Contemporary Art Center, the New Museum, Sculpture Center LIC, and the Whitney Museum of American Art at Altria in New York. His work has also been shown nationally, including exhibitions at the Smart Museum in Chicago, the St. Louis Art Museum, and Rice University Art Gallery in Houston.
Hendee is a professor at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. His work has been recognized with numerous awards, including a 2019 National Endowment for the Arts ArtWorks Grant. Recently, Hendee created a permanent installation at Meow Wolf Omega Mart in Las Vegas, NV, which opened in 2021. He has most recently completed a permanent commissioned installation for The Mill in Westport, NY in 2024.
Hendee's work challenges viewers to consider the relationship between virtual and physical spaces, and how they intersect with our perceptions of reality. His installations are visually stunning and conceptually complex, inviting audiences to explore and engage with the dynamic worlds he creates.
Education
- Stanford University MFA
- San Francisco Art Institute BFA
- School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Awards
- 2021 HEMI Research Fellowship Johns Hopkins University
- 2019 NEA ArtWorks Grant
- 2017 MSAC Individual Artist Award in Visual Arts: Sculpture / Installation
- 2014 MSAC Individual Artist Award in Visual Arts: Sculpture
- 2014 Clark Hulings Fund Finalist
- 2010 Nevada Arts Council Jackpot Grant
- 2008 Cirque du Soleil Community Support Grant
- 2007 Nevada Arts Council Artist Fellowship Grant
- 2005 Nevada Arts Council Jackpot Grant
- 2000 New Jersey State Council on the Arts Fellowship
- 1999 Louis Comfort Tiffany Award
- 1999 Elizabeth Foundation Grant
- 1998 Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant
- 1998 Kirin Contemporary Award, Japan
- 1992 Murphy and Cadogan Fellowship in the Fine Arts
- 1990 Harold E. Weiner Sculpture Award, SFAI
- 1989 Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture Scholarship
Residencies
- 2017 Virginia Center for the Creative Arts
- 2016 Pollock-Krasner Mid-Career Artist Residency, Fine Arts Work Center
- 2014 Willapa Bay
- 2010 Goldwell Open Air Museum Residency
- 2008 MacDowell Colony Fellowship
- 2001 Headlands Center for the Arts
- 1997 Marie Walsh Sharpe Foundation
- 1989 Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture
Collections
Birmingham Museum of Art
Bloomberg Corporate Collection, NYC, NY
Bombay Sapphire Collection, London, UK
Cincinnati Art Museum
City of Las Vegas
Faulconer Gallery Grinnell College Art Collection
Houston Fine Arts Museum
Laguna Art Museum
The Lincoln Motor Company Collection
Meow Wolf, Las Vegas
The Mill ADK, Westport, NY
Microsoft Art Collection, Seattle, WA
Portland Art Museum
San Jose Art Museum
Washington DC Convention Center