GEORGE NICKE HENDRICKS IV
MISSION
I am an artist, sculptor and craftsman who designs and builds evocative landscape structures and environmental installations. I reference the muses of archeology, geology, architecture, nature and intuition in making things we haven't seen before in places we might have taken for granted. Elegance and timelessness, peace and calm, harmony and faithfulness to the rhythms of nature and the sacred forces are paramount in my work. The raw materials are earth, air, water and fire. I mean this literally. I engage all of these when I encounter a place that has beckoned me and offered an opportunity for transformation. Both the Land and my Being will change with every new installation I do. Some cause me to suffer terribly and exert massive amounts of physical energy in their making. Some are so effortless, so evanescent, so mysterious as is the beating of a hummingbird's wings, that I consider them prayers offered to the Heaven that is Earth.
I employ decades of schooling and personal study in both art and engineering when I build. I intend my work to last hundreds if not thousands and beyond years, outside, exposed to the fury and caress of the elements. Due to the extreme durability of iconic materials like stone, copper, glass, and stainless steel, my work is intended to have a life far beyond my own.
Whatever I create must be so germane, so inextricably woven to the fabric of the land that it encourages the viewer to try to imagine one without the other. The intention is not to challenge the viewers, to confront them, to be edgy or hip or savvy or ironic. I meditate deeply on each sculpture so the future participant of the work can do the same. I hope they feel what I feel. These things I build bring me peace of mind, body and soul. They are extensions of my heart. These built environments are spaces for contemplation, gestations of thought. Through them, I aspire to celebrate the better nature of man in nature.
GOALS AND INTENTIONS
The majority of my work is sited on private estates throughout the eastern United States. I wish to expand on this. I intend on working around the globe with most of my commissions henceforth being in the public sphere. I am interested in designing dedicated environment installations for museums, public parks, and commercial buildings.
All of my future work will reference my past focus in continuing to bow to the transformative and restorative power of Nature. I will never lose the feeling of astonishment I had when running in the forest with my loyal dogs and listening to the birds alight loudly above me, my vivid memory of seeing and smelling the big blue ocean for the first time, my favorite summer habit of taking an afternoon nap near a quiet brook and letting the sound of water tapping round stones remind me of my place in this world.
Anything that can be dreamed can be lived
RESUME
George Nicke Hendricks IV
WEBSITE : hendrickssculpture.com
PROFILE: ARTIST / SCULPTOR
Creator of large-scale outdoor sculptures in private and corporate collections. 20 years experience conceiving, designing, building and maintaining outdoor sculpture installations in a wide range of materials.
SKILLS:
- Welding, cutting, shaping all forms of metal including copper and aluminum
- Sourcing, rigging drilling, splitting and shaping all forms and types of stone
- Moldmaking with Silicone and Urethane Rubber
- Form making with concrete in all colors
-Cutting, fusing and casting glass
- Slab cutting, shaping, joining, finishing all types of wood
EDUCATION:
Bachelor of Arts / English Literature, History of Art
Rice University, Houston, Texas Graduated 1991
University California / Berkeley Extension / Sculpture Studio 1998
EXPERIENCE:
MAJOR PRIVATE ESTATE COMMISSIONS
Conceived and directed complex multi-dimensional, long-term landscape sculpture projects for private estates, many of which open their grounds to the public for viewing during garden tours and philanthropic events. These projects include evocative objects and meditative spaces designed to soothe the spirit and inspire both joyful and serious contemplation. The work combines aesthetics and engineering to make the difficult look effortless and ethereal.
2010 - Estate of David Heilbronner and Kate Davis / Danbury, Ct.
Sculpture title : RIVER KOAN
Material : Native Stone , Granite slabs , Fieldstone
2010 - Estate of Joseph Godfrey and Keith Halstead / Roxbury, Ct.
Sculpture title : THE SECOND HOTEL
Material : Architectural Granite Blocks
2009 - Estate of Anthony Weller / Anasquam , Mass.
Sculpture title: HORSE HAIR APSE
Material : Cedar branches , Rusted ornament , Native Granite
2007 - 2009 - Estate of Hope Winthrop / Anasquam , Mass.
Sculpture title : CUTTING THROUGH STONE
Material : Granite Slabs , Blown glass , Copper , Native stone
2001 - 2006 - Estate of Horace Woodward Brock / Gloucester , Mass.
Multiple Sculptures composing a large outdoor Sculpture Park
Material : Copper , Stainless, Rusted Metal, Granite, Native Stone
Glass , Bronze , Concrete
2003 - Estate of John and Phyllis Warden / Bedford , New York
Sculpture title : WEATHERING HEIGHTS
Material : Cedar Logs , Native Oak , Granite , Mild Steel plate
2002 - Estate of David Weirdsma / Greenwich , Ct.
Sculpture Title : NEST
Material : Brownstone , Salvaged Stone Ornament, Oak, Grapevines
2000 - 2001 - Estate of Grant and Hope Winthrop / Danbury , Ct.
Sculpture title: THE STONE MENAGERIE
Material : Native Stone Boulders , Granite Flats , Stainless Steel
1997 - Estate of Kyle Rudden / Washington, Ct.
Sculpture Title : TRANSPORT
Material : Granite, Concrete, Halogen Lamps
1996 - Estate of Gerald and Sally Fine / Redding, Ct.
Sculpture title: THE WHALE
Material: Granite, Lead sheet, Stainless steel
1995 - Estate of Jerry Bock / South Salem, New York
Sculpture Title: SYSIPHUS / Material: Native stone boulders, Stainless Steel
MAJOR CORPORATE COMMISSIONS
Responded to different companies’ requests to assemble a series of sculptures in public commercial spaces, open to the general public
2013 - Corporate Headquarters of New Morning Organics / Woodbury, Ct.
Sculpture Show of Native Wood Functional Art Forms
Material: Oak, Maple, Hickory, Native Granite, Rusted Steel
2011 - Corporate grounds of C. Whitmore Landscape Gardeners / NY
Sculpture Show of 6 outdoor landscape sculptures
Material: Copper, Granite, Wood, Glass, Concrete
2001-2007- “The Good News Café”/ Woodbury, Ct
Sculpture Show on the grounds of an award-winning restaurant
Material: granite, glass, water, copper
2003 – Company grounds of Pound Ridge Nursery
Showcase of functional landscape ornament
Material: granite slabs, rusted steel, native stone
1998 - Corporate offices of Helen Wagner Design / Easton, Ct.
Sculpture title: HEAVEN'S GATE
Material: Granite, Rusted Steel
1997 - Corporate offices of The Braverman Group / Westport, Ct.
Sculpture title: TOUCH
Material: Granite, Stainless Steel , Native Stone Slabs.
MEDIA REVIEWS
2010 – Semmes, Ann, “David Weirdsma shares his passion for plants and the prehistoric” Greenwich Citizen / August 21, 2010 / pages 1-4
2009 - Mcgivern, Morgan,“Sculpture Show Review” The Easthampton Star Newspaper / September 17, 2009 / vol.CXXII no.8 / ARTS AND LIVING / page C2
2006 – LaScala, Marisa, “What is That ?“ Westchester Magazine / September 2006 / page 125
2004 - Weadon, Priscilla, “The Gardens of David Weirdsma’s French Farm” Fairfield County Home Magazine / September 2004 / pages 9 - 20
2002 - Seremet, Pat, “Java “ The Hartford Courant / August 15, 2002 CURRENTS section / page D2
2002 - Kahn, Eve M., “Thursday Edition Art and Design Trends”The New York Times / November 21, 2002
1999 - Morgan, Colleen T., “A Simple Desire to Build Artfully” Litchfield County Times Magazine / October 1999 / page 32 -35
