JOHN HENRY Biography
BIOGRAPHY
Sculptor, American, Born 1943
John Henry is known worldwide for his large-scale public works of art. His works grace numerous important museum, corporate, public and private collections as well as the collections of many American cities and states. His works are also prominently exhibited in the public collections of various European and Asian municipalities.
Mr. Henry has shown his work extensively since the early 1960’s and exhibits a definitive trademark style that is recognized internationally. His works range in scale from small tabletop pieces to some of the largest contemporary metal sculptures in the world. His recent exhibitions of works include “New Monuments” at the Laumeier Sculpture Park in St. Louis, Missouri, “Back on the Plaza” on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile, “Real-Irreal-Surreal”, at Art-St-Urban in St. Urban, Switzerland, “OPEN” in Venice, Italy, and “ODYSSEY” at Purdue North Central University in Westville, Indiana. Currently, he is also a featured artist in the Vancouver Biennale in British Columbia.
Mr. Henry attended the University of Kentucky, University of Chicago and the Art Institute of Chicago, where he received a Ford Foundation grant, the Edward L Ryerson Fellowship and earned a BFA. He received an Honorary Doctor of Arts from the University of Kentucky in 1996. As a visiting professor of sculpture, Mr. Henry taught at University of lowa, University of Wisconsin, University of Chicago and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He is currently Distinguished Professor of Art at Chattanooga State College. In 2002 he received the Governor’s National Award in the Arts from the State of Kentucky and in 2004, the Mayor’s Award of Distinction in the Arts from the City of Chattanooga. Other recent honor’s include recognition on the floor of the Tennessee State Senate in 2004 and the 2005 honorary renaming of North Cermak Road “John Henry Way” by the City of Chicago in recognition of his contributions to Public Art on the local and national levels.
As an active participant in promoting the arts Mr. Henry has served as a member of the Advisory Board of Lawyers for the Creative Arts in Chicago, a coordinator and advisor to the City and the Art Institute of Chicago for the "Sculpture in the Parks Exhibition" and as an advisor to the Art Council of Greater New Orleans for the "Super Sculpture New Orleans" Exhibition. Since 1991 he has been on the Board of Trustees of the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts, serving as Board member at large, Chairman of the Programs Committee and member of the Executive committee. Since 1996 he has served the Board of the International Sculpture Center in various leadership roles, serving as Chairman for two years through the spring of 2002. Mr. Henry has lectured extensively on the role of art in public places and is known as a strong advocate of all of the arts, not only sculpture.
Mr. Henry was a founding member of ConStruct, the artist-owned gallery that promoted and organized large-scale sculpture exhibitions throughout the United States. Other founding members include Mark diSuvero, Kenneth Snelson, Lyman Kipp and Charles Ginnever. Mr. Henry continues to curate exhibitions in the United States and in Europe; drawing on his nationally recognized expertise regarding sculptors and their work. He is now the Curator of the Outdoor Museum of Art at Chattanooga State College, Chattanooga, Tennessee.
JOHN HENRY Resumé
BORN Lexington, Kentucky- 1943
EDUCATION
University of Kentucky 1961-65
University of Washington 1962
School of the Art Institute of Chicago 1966-69, B.F.A.
Illinois Institute of Technology 1967
University of Chicago 1968-69
Honorary Doctor of Arts, University of Kentucky, 1996
SELECTED POSITIONS
Member of the Advisory Board of Lawyers for the Creative Arts, Chicago, 1970
Coordinator and Advisor to the Art Institute of Chicago and the City of Chicago for the "Sculpture in the Parks Exhibition", Summer, 1974
Advisor to the Art Council of Greater New Orleans for the "Super Sculpture New Orleans" Exhibition, 1976
President/Chairman of the Board, ConStruct Corporation, 1978-1980
National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts, Board of Trustees 1991 - 1996, Chairman Programs Committee, 1993, 1995, 1997-1999, 2006, Board of Trustees Executive Committee 2000-2006, Co-Chair Board of Trustees, 2002-2003
International Sculpture Center, Chairman, Board Development Committee, 1996-1999 Vice Chair, Board of Trustees 1998-2000, Chairman of the Board 2000-2002, Committee on Directors (Committee Chair) 2006
Distinguished Professor of Art, Chattanooga State College, Chattanooga, TN 2001
Founding Curator, Outdoor Museum of Art, Chattanooga, TN 2003
Curator, German Symposium, OMA, Chattanooga State College, Chattanooga, TN, 2004/2005
Curator, “Art on the Trail”, Macon, GA 2006
Curator, “American Sculptors in the Shadow of the Alps”, St. Urban, Switzerland, 2007
VISITING PROFESSOR OF SCULPTURE
1969 University of Iowa, Iowa City
1970 University of Wisconsin, Green Bay
1971 University of Chicago
1979-80 School of the Art Institute of Chicago
SELECTED AWARDS AND COMMISSIONS
Ford Foundation Educational Grant School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
The Edward L Ryerson Fellowship at the Art Institute of Chicago
National Endowment for the Arts Works of Art in Public Places Commission, Governors State University, University Park, IL
National Endowment for the Arts Individual Artist Grant, 1975
National Endowment for the Arts Funded, Mint Museum of Art, Purchase of "Sun Target", Charlotte, NC
National Endowment for the Arts Works of Art in Public Places, matching grant with Iowa Beef Processors commission for Sioux City, IA Dade County Art in Public Places South Miami Metro rail Station "Paciencia", South Miami, FL, 1982
Alaska State Council on the Arts Commission for Anchorage Intn’l Airport Anchorage, AK, 1985
State of Illinois Capital Development Board Commission Central Atrium- State of Illinois Center Chicago, IL, 1985
Temple Beth Am, South Miami, FL, 1987
Florida Art In State Buildings, FL Arts Councils University of FL, "Alachua", Gainesville, FL, 1988
FL Art In State Buildings Board of Regents FL Arts Council, FL State and Florida A & M University, Joint Engineering School, "Journey to the Mountain Shire", Tallahassee, FL, 1989
Florida Individual Artists Fellowship, 1990
Sonje Museum of Contemporary Art, "Dance of the Sun", Kyongju City, Korea, 1991
Grove Isle Club and Resort, "Gateway", Coconut Grove, FL, 1994
American Bankers Life Insurance Group, "New Directions", Miami, FL, 1994
Coopers & Lybrand, Miami, FL, 1995
United Capital Corp., Great Neck, NY, 1997
Park Place Office Park, Naperville, Illinois, 1999
"Symphony in Red" Commissioned by Toto Lotto Foundation, Lower Saxony, gift to the City of Hanover, Germany for the "Kunst Mile", Installed May 2000
2002 Governor’s National Award in the Arts, Commonwealth of Kentucky
2004 Mayor’s Award of Distinction in the Arts, Chattanooga, TN
2005 Honor by the Tennessee State Senate with recognition on the floor of the Senate, Nashville, TN
2005 Distinguished Alumni Award University of Kentucky, College of Fine Arts
2005 “John Henry Way” – Honorary renaming of North Cermak Road, Chicago, IL
