Hugh Hayden

Huff and a Puff

2023 

Wood, mirrored glass, brick, steel 

Courtesy the artist 

born 1983, Dallas, TX, lives and works in New York, NY

This dramatically slanted cabin replicates the iconic one-room home where Henry David Thoreau lived on nearby Walden Pond from 1845 until 1847. There Thoreau wrote Walden; or, Life in the Woods, an influential text on nature, contemplation, and self-reliance. Hugh Hayden’s version of this cabin— where every shingle, windowpane, and brick tilts dramatically forward and sideways—conveys a pressurized force on the home. Despite the artwork’s playful title, the building’s lean evokes ominous themes, such as the effects of climate change, as if hurricane force gales are blowing down the structure. In this way, the house draws out connections and differences between views of nature from the 19th century and our present-day relationship to the natural world. 

Hugh Hayden: Huff and a Puff is commissioned by Art & the Landscape, an initiative of The Trustees. Lead support for Art at The Trustees is provided by Mr. Richard M. Coffman and Mrs. Gabrielle C.F. Coffman. This project is also supported by Lisson Gallery, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Next Generation Fund of the Roy A. Hunt Foundation, an anonymous donor, Dr. Susan M. Culman, Marjorie and Nick Greville, Janet and David Offensend, Kathleen O’Hara, Valentine Talland and Nagesh Mahanthappa, Maria Garzon Vassallo and Mark Vassallo, and Elissa and William Warner.

Tap below to hear Hugh Hayden discuss the tilt of the cabin.

Tap below to hear Hugh Hayden discuss his use of materials.

Tap below to hear Hugh Hayden discuss the title, Huff and a Puff.

Tap below to hear Hugh Hayden discuss the cabin as a symbol of the American Dream.

Tap below to hear Hugh Hayden discuss the cabin as a symbol of change.