BIO
Hank Waddell creates art and sculptural furniture primarily from fallen trees. As a boy, he developed a deep connection with nature wandering the pine forests of East Texas. He climbed the trees, built forts from downed limbs, and bathed in the serenity of the old pines. Here, he learned to listen to trees and to take in their beauty, and it was here that he began his lifelong passion for crafting wood.
For a time, Waddell worked on construction crews on land that had been cleared of the pine forests he loved. He witnessed the chainsawed trees as he passed through jobsites, and he felt the pang of loss—for the trees and for his own self. He knew the trees still had more to say, and he was compelled to salvage those fragments—of their trunks, branches, roots—that spoke most consequentially to him. After years of collecting these remnants, and learning his way with wood, he began crafting objects from the trees. Nearly fifty years on, and many miles from the piney woods of his youth, Waddell has learned much about trees, and that knowledge informs his approach to sculpture and furniture.
For Waddell, the process of creating sculpture or furniture takes time. He must first find the right fallen tree, one that speaks truths to him. This can take a little luck; but with patience, nature eventually provides. He studies the tree, seeks to divine its essence and trace its past from the contours of the tree’s form, the material quality of its wood, and even its knots and scars. He then works with the tree to capture its essential nature. Sometimes, he works through subtraction, by removing material to expose hidden marvels; other times, he does so through addition, by joining it with other tree remnants or juxtaposing it with other materials. Always, he proceeds thoughtfully, seeking, above all, to be true to the tree and the material.
As a craftsman, an artist, and a naturalist, Waddell knows the gifts that trees provide to us. They supply us with shade, fruit, shelter, and life-giving oxygen. But they also bestow upon us psychic gifts—serenity, comfort, connection—qualities that impart meaning to our lives and make our beings more human. Through his work, Waddell seeks to provide these fallen trees one more opportunity to give and also to arouse in viewers a sense of gratitude for the trees that have given us so much.
Solo Exhibitions
2009
September The Shoal Creek Walk, Austin, Texas
A Special Presentation Austin Art League 100 Annual Meeting, Joan Lowe Residence Austin, Texas
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2008
The Laughing Alligator University of Texas Permian Basin Odessa, Texas
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2006
Saved from the Fire Umlauf Museum and Sculpture Garden
98/06 Building 98, Marfa, Texas, Building 98
Tree Bones Artillery Gallery, Austin, Texas
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2005
Fragments of Earth Building 98, Marfa, Texas
2004
Deductive Process Building 98, Marfa, Texas
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2003
Visit from the Marfins Texas Film Society Hall of Fame, Austin, Texas
Building 98 Marfa, Texas
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2002
Changing Nature - Stumps, Moontower Gallery, Austin, Texas
Pedestrian Amazonian Z’Tejas, Austin, Texas
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2001
Changing Nature Gallery Hana, Austin, Texas
Group Exhibitions
2009
June New American Talent 24, Jones Center, Art House, Austin, Texas
5 X 7 Jones Center, Austin, Texas
Art Ball Austin, Texas
ART+, IF+D Austin, Texas
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2008
Texas Chair Project AMOA, Austin, Texas
Mountain Gathering Keystone, Colorado
5 X 7 Jones Center, Austin, Texas
Austin Fine Arts Festival Austin, Texas
Abstract ‘08 Brocca Gallery, Austin, Texas
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2007
East Austin Studio Tour
War – Artist Response, Daugherty, Austin, Texas
500E Marfa, Texas
Sculptfest Umlauf Sculpture Garden, Austin, Texas
The Gathering Austin, Texas
5 X 7 Jones Center, Austin, Texas
Spoonbend Austin, Texas
Peoples Gallery 3 pieces for 2007, City Hall, Austin, Texas
2006
AveD Austin, Texas
East Austin Studio Tour Artillery Gallery, Austin, Texas
Group 105 Marfa, Texas
Sculptfest Umlauf Sculpture Garden, Austin, Texas
Black & White Artillery Gallery, Austin, Texas
Art Matters Art Alliance, Till Richter, Austin, Texas
Sculptors Dominion San Antonio, Texas
Caution, Ghost Tree – Gates Project, Whole Foods with Austin Green Art Austin, Texas
5 X 7 Jones Center, Austin, Texas
Wood be Nice Austin Bergstrom Airport
Capricorn’s Birthday Show The Bread Factory, Austin, Texas
2005
East Austin Studio Tour Artillery Gallery, Austin, Texas
Cup City in conjunction with Austin Green Art & Starbucks, Austin, Texas
Texas Sculptors Showcase Nancy Fayfe Cardozier Gallery, University of Texas Permian Basin
On the Road to Dallas 5 X 7, Conduit Gallery, Dallas, Texas
Sculptors’ Dominion Invitational San Antonio, Texas
5 X 7 Austin, Texas
Marfa Texas Building 98
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2004
Sculptors’ Dominion Invitational San Antonio
5 X 7 Art House, Austin, Texas
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2003
Sculptors’ Dominion Invitational San Antonio
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2002
Changing Nature IV Art Space, San Antonio, Texas
Guadalupe Arts Austin, Texas
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2001
Listen if You Can: A Celebration of Collaboration University of Texas at Austin
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1993
Exhibit F “Rachmaninov’s Pets” awarded publics choice, Austin, Texas
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1992
Exhibit E “World Bar” awarded critics choice and public’s choice, Austin, Texas
Curation / Producing
2007
War – Artist Respond, Daugherty, Austin, Texas
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2006
Sits on Sixth Scarborough Building, Austin, Texas
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2005
Artillery Gallery Co-founder, Austin, Texas
Visiting Artist Teaching
Umlauf Sculpture Garden
Marbridge Farm, building Amazonian Pedestrians with residents
Marbridge Farm, Pollock Painted T-Shirts
Panels & Selection Comittees
2007
Austin Fine Arts Alliance, Festival Judge
Austin Fine Arts Alliance, Juror
2006
Austin Fine Arts Alliance, Festival Judge
2005
Director of Construction & Installations for Austin Green Art
Juror, 30 X 30, Shelter Design Competion, Design Reprographics, Austin, Texas
Education
2004 – 2005
Austin Community College, classes in metal work
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1976 – 1980
Glassell School, Houston, Texas
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1970 – 1973
Various Universities in Texas, classes in mathematics, science, engineering
Previous Business
1982 – 2001
LeGrande Company, Inc, specializing in fine wood interiors
1968 – 1982
HW Contractors, general construction of residential remodeling
1975 – 1980
Assistant to sculptor Thom Wheeler in Houston, Texas
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1972 – 1974
Yost & Company, led furniture builder and responsible for R&D of new techniques
Associations
Austin Visual Artist Association
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Texas Society of Sculptors, President 2005 – 2008
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International Sculptor Society
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Texas Sculpture Network