Lena Henke

Lena Henke tests the possibilities of sculpture through technically innovative methods of production, expanding its traditional meaning by confronting themes of femaleness and the production of power relations in urban space. The capacities of sculpture serve Henke as a basis for understanding the molding (and casting) of bodies as a changeable process of design. In series like Hooves, Boobs, and Sand Bodies, Henke blends mimetic forms with surrealist imagery, engaging the myth of masculinity while working within historical traditions to interrogate the logic of sculptural representation and representability. Her interventions in the psychology of existing urban structures—such as relocating exhibition entrances or altering street signage—allow her to grasp urbanity as a historically evolved sculpture. By weaving feminist and autobiographical threads into her work, Henke opens a compelling space where sculpture meets social critique, reimagining both form and environment.

Henke has presented solo exhibitions at the Aspen Museum of Art, Aspen, Colorado; ARCH, Athens, Greece (2025) Museum Marta Herford, Herford, Germany; The Ranch, Montauk, New York ; Carlone Contemporary, Belvedere, Vienna, Austria, (2023); the Museum für Gegenwartskunst Siegen (2019), and Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt, Germany (2017), among others.

She has also exhibited widely across Europe and the United States, with institutional presentations at the Kunsthalle Bielefeld, Germany (2024); Laumeier Sculpture Park, St. Louis, Missouri, USA, (2022); Vleeshal Center for Contemporary Art, Middleburg, Netherlands (2021); Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (2018); the Hessel Museum of Art, New York (2018); Sprengel Museum Hannover (2017); Kunstmuseum Luzern, Switzerland (2018); Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (2017); Timisoara Contemporary Art Biennale, Romania (2017); Manifesta 11, Zurich (2016); the 9th Berlin Biennale (2016); La Biennale de Montréal (2016); Kunstverein Braunschweig, Germany (2016); Triennale of Small Sculpture, Fellbach, Germany (2016); S.A.L.T.S., Basel (2016); The New Museum, New York (2015); Socrates Sculpture Park, New York (2015); Kunsthalle Bern, Switzerland (2014); Künstlerhaus Graz, Austria (2014); White Flag Projects, St. Louis (2014); Sculpture Museum Glaskasten, Marl (2014); Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami (2013); Kunstverein Aachen, Germany (2012), and Oldenburger Kunstverein, Germany (2012) among others.

Henke’s work has been recognized with major awards and grants, including the Marta Herford Award of the Wemhöner Foundation (2022), the 8th Rubensförderpreis of the City of Siegen (2019), a Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant (2019), and, in 2024, being named Artist Honoree of the Year by the New York–based arts organization Topical Cream.

Henke’s work is included in major public collections such as the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, the Belvedere Museum, Vienna, the Kunstsammlung des Bundes, Berlin and Bonn, the Hessel Museum of Art, New York, the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, MAMCO in Geneva, and Socrates Sculpture Park, New York. She lives and works between New York City and Berlin.