CJ Hendry

Biography

Catherine Jenna Hendry (CJ Hendry) is a contemporary Australian artist. She was born and raised in Brisbane, Australia. She attended the University of Queensland in Australia and attempted to study two degrees; one in architecture and one in finance^[1] , before finally dropping out of university and pursuing a career in art in 2013^[2] . Hendry lived and practiced in Brisbane before moving to New York in 2015.

Rise to fame on social media

Hendry experienced an exponential rise to fame, mainly credited to her presence on social media. The artist states she liked Instagram as a means of personally curating her product, rather than working within the parameters of a commercial gallery^[3], especially as an emerging artist. She says her first sale was due to Instagram – her immaculate depiction of a pair of RM Williams boots was purchased for $10 000 in 2014^[4]. Digital art collective The Cool Hunter sponsored Henry as she begun her art making career^[5], becoming her excusive representation quite soon after she established her Instagram. In 2014 Hendry entered her works in to The Cool Hunter’s annual pop up exhibition The Art Hunter^[6], with all her works selling on Instagram presale before the exhibition began^[7]. Hendry states her success ‘… comes down to the fact that most people have Instagram’^[8].

Practice

Hendry’s now famous aesthetic was borne from a hobby. She has no formal art training and considers herself ‘…not very creative^[9].’ Her practice is famous for being meticulous, with some works taking up to 200 hours^[10]. Her works are primarily hyper-realistic, large scale ink drawings of objects (of both fantastic and recognisable). Her traditional practice of ink on paper is achieved through layers and layers of meticulously placed dots. Hendry uses large scale as a means of accentuating her attention to detail. Her works are analogue, using only photographs with edited saturated lighting to base her ink pen drawings off. The artist creates images that exhibit ‘strong contrast with negative space^[11].’ In 2016 she expanded her practice to colour drawings in wax pencil, following the same hyper realistic study. The difference, the artist explains, is that ‘color is very difficult, because you’ve got to use multiple different colors to create one^[12].’

Ink drawings

Playing card series

Hendry’s series of Playing cards were published for purchase in late 2014 by The Cool Hunter and sold at an exponential rate. All 54 works sold on thecoolhunter Instagram within 5 days^[13].

50 Foods in 50 Days

The 50 Foods in 50 Days collaboration between CJ Hendry, her representation The Cool Hunter and various food merchants took place in March-April 2015^[14]. As well as being an exhibition for her work, the collaboration shed light on Hendry’s savvy use of art as an enterprising business venture.

The Alphabet series

In 2015 the artist leant her traditional aesthetic to an ink on paper series of helium balloon letters which collectively constituted the alphabet. The nature of the series meant that Hendry produced a finite amount of works. This in turn meant they marketed for a higher value. The series sold almost as if by commission; managed by The Cool Hunter, many of the works sold before the image itself was finished^[15].

Bronzed trophy series

The Bronzed Trophy Series consists of monochromatic drawings of inanimate objects dipped in liquid bronze. Each monochrome drawing depicts a ‘bronzed artefact’ placed on a crumbling concrete plinth, elevating it to mimic a ‘trophy’. The series was first exhibited in New York in 2016^[16].

Collaborations

‘Complimentary Colours’ with Christian Louboutin

In 2016 Hendry entered a collaboration with fashion house Christian Louboutin. The exhibition, held in the Anita Chan Lia-ling Gallery at the Fringe Club in Hong Kong as part of the 2017 Art Basel, and signalled Hendry’s revolutionary turn to colour and the medium of wax pencil^[17]. The exhibition debuted the colour series, with a nod to Louboutin’s classic red evident on the soles of crayon high heels that guests are invited to use to draw on the white walls of the gallery^[18].

Criticism and acclaim

Hendry’s immediate success has drawn both criticism and acclaim. Her acclaim and praise is sung by artists, critics and celebrities who admire her savviness, attention to detail and driven personality. Art collective and devout patron of the artist The Cool Hunter celebrate her study and manipulation of social media, and her impressive capacity to use it successfully as a tool to market herself globally.

Criticism of Hendry mainly lies in art dealers and markets for paying huge prices for works that can be made in real time. The market can be ‘flooded’ with her product because there is an infinite supply as long as the artist is practicing. Because she can meet demand, she controls her own market.

CJ Hendry in the art market

CJ Hendry has significant persuasion in the contemporary commercial art market. Entrepreneurial artists such as Hendry have created a new niche in the New York and global art market. These artists that have the luxury of morphing their practice to capitalise on their success in real time. She is successful in both the primary and secondary art market – as a commissioned artist and as a collectors’ item respectively. Commercial art markets are highly volatile and perceptive to a myriad of influences^[19], including the inherited cultural capital or value of an artist, and the finite or infinite nature of the art source; e.g is the artist still in practice. Sponsored primarily by New York art dealers, her art has become successful because she can make it according to demand. In the primary market^[20], her large scale, hyper realist drawings appeal to a wide market. Her work is easily marketable due to her association with social media.

External links

• http://www.instagram.com/cj_hendry/?hl=en
• https://www.instagram.com/thecoolhunter_/?hl=en
• http://thecoolhunter.net

References