Artist Hugh Hayden Returns to Texas Embracing His Roots

Key Takeaways

• Hugh Hayden, a 40-year-old artist, is showcasing a solo exhibition at the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas
• The centerpiece of the exhibition is "Brush," a sculptural rendition of the Kidsville playground in Duncanville, Texas, covered in boar hair bristles
• Hayden's work explores themes of nostalgia, childhood, and social commentary, reflecting his personal experiences growing up Black in the American South
• The exhibition runs through January 5, 2025, and invites visitors to engage with Hayden's thought-provoking creations
• Hayden's artistic medium is primarily wood, which he uses to transform recognizable objects in subversive ways

Hugh Hayden’s latest solo exhibition, Homecoming, at the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas, delves into themes of memory, identity, and resilience. Dallas, the city where Hayden grew up, serves as the backdrop for a nostalgic yet thought-provoking display that merges his past with his art. One standout piece, Brush (2024), reimagines Kidsville—a playground built in 1989 by community volunteers in a Dallas suburb. The original wooden play structure, a testament to community spirit and childhood memories, is reinterpreted with boar hair bristles covering walkways and slides, making it unusable and oddly abrasive. The choice of material, reminiscent of boar bristle brushes known for detangling and shining hair, becomes a metaphor for how nostalgia smooths over formative experiences.

In Homecoming, Hayden’s return to Texas is marked by vulnerability beneath his polished works, exploring the complexities of growing up Black and queer in the American South. In Blending In, a football uniform covered in bark hangs from lockers, symbolizing the hidden anxieties of masking one’s identity for social acceptance. Meanwhile, Cutting Board features a cafeteria table surrounded by red graphite-tipped appendages and flanked by mirrored walls, reflecting the pressures of high school common areas and the scrutiny of peers.

Hayden’s exhibition space is divided with faux walls, hinting at domestic spaces haunted by remnants of the past. Get Together showcases skillets and stock pots adorned with African masks, connecting domestic labor’s post-slavery legacy, while Laure presents a skeletal version of Manet’s Olympia model resting on a white couch, offering a moment of repose and acknowledgment. The interplay between history and modernity reaches a poignant note in Made in Heaven, depicting two intertwined skeletons with tool-tipped limbs inside a closet, leaving their relationship intentionally ambiguous to allow multiple interpretations of race and gender.

Hayden revisits earlier themes in pieces like Pecanocchio, which features a puppet based on a childhood photo of himself, and Force Field, a Lone Star flag made of HIV prevention pills, allergy capsules, and hair-loss medication, blending personal health narratives with Texan pride.

His works maintain a balance between open-ended interpretations and strong aesthetic impact, inviting viewers to draw their own meanings. Supper, with a dining table sprouting twig-like erasers, comments on the ubiquitous nuclear family or a longing for conventional belonging. The miniature church in Happily Ever After can symbolize either the influence of religion or its transformative power.

For those familiar with Hayden’s surreal interpretations of suburban life, Homecoming offers a tender look at his personal evolution. Newcomers will experience the compelling force behind his rise in the art world. Homecoming (running through January 5) captures the deep, introspective nature of returning to one's roots and the surprising revelations such a journey can inspire.