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.