Hospitality Design - January 2025 - 27

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By Caitlin St John
Photos by Andy Romer, Kelly Ryerson and courtesy of Cj Hendry Studio
Hendry's Crowns series for digital art platform
Dropshop comprised thousands of inflatable crowns
The Flower Market installation was
accompanied by original drawings
2018's Monochrome featured seven
rooms, each done in a single color
From the Flower Market series, the
hyper-real " Lactic Acid " drawing
REAL VISION
Cj Hendry takes the public art realm by storm
Australian artist Cj Hendry has amassed a loyal audience of
858,000 Instagram followers (and climbing) and a waitlist
of more than 3,000 collectors. The subjects of her largescale,
hyper-photorealistic drawings span fl orals and glossy
paint smudges to well-loved stuff ed animals and a crinkled
Have a Nice Day plastic bag. Her success, however, was not
instantaneous.
Having studied both architecture and fi nance at university in
Queensland, she knew it was time for a change. " The only thing I
enjoyed was drawing, " she says. " I was okay at it, but I liked how
it made me feel. I decided to give drawing a real try, and I drew
solidly for a year. "
Hendry was an early adopter of social media. With no
intention or expectations, she posted her black and white ink
drawings on Instagram. Eventually a purchase inquiry came
though, and her career began to take off .
For the past six years, Hendry has translated her work
into fun, interactive exhibitions that are here today, gone a
few days later. The fi rst was Monochrome, a house built within
a Brooklyn, New York warehouse (where her studio is now
located) comprising seven rooms clad fl oor-to-ceiling in one
color. " Drawings have increasingly felt a litt le bit suff ocating, "
Hendry says. " My frustration started to build, and I didn't want
to limit [my art] to a wall. "
While the concept of each installation is vastly diff erent
from the next, many are free and open to the public. " I like
creating something people can feel and do without dollars
being att ached to it, " she says. Last year, Hendry presented
the 164-foot-long infl atable Public Pool in Sandy Valley Ranch,
Nevada. Next up was Flower Market, a collaboration with beauty
brand Clé de Peau Beauté, on New York's Roosevelt Island and
the shoppable Bargain Bodega in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where
she sold sequined patches of everyday items like Windex and
ChapStick.
" It's been a very consistent, focused 10 years of work, " Hendry
says. It's taken a long time-a lot of people second guessing and
doubting, and the art world being like, 'Who's this bit of hocus
pocus on social media?' But I've kept going, and I've reinvested
everything I've ever made back in. It's a constant snowball, and
as we go on every year, the snowball gets bigger. " hd
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Hospitality Design - January 2025

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