Artist: Gene Hedge

Lincoln Glenn Gallery presents Gene Hedge: Pieces of The City, a solo exhibition of the artist’s collages, paintings, and constructions from the 1950s through the 1970s. Hedge’s alternative practices reveal a singular way of seeing the world—an approach that infused his work with depth, dimension, and a quiet sense of reverence for form.

This exhibition marks Lincoln Glenn Gallery’s second presentation of Hedge’s work since the artists passing in 2017. Pieces of The City bring to light a remarkable body of paintings and constructions that remained hidden for decades in his SoHo studio—works that encapsulate both the discipline and devotion of an artist who lived entirely for his craft.

Although Hedge initially found success in the vibrant postwar art world, he ultimately turned away from commercial recognition. By the early 1970s, he had withdrawn from the gallery circuit entirely, devoting himself instead to teaching, travel, and the creative achievements of his peers. Living and working in his SoHo loft on Bleecker Street, Hedge chose a life of solitude and pure artistic pursuit. He painted obsessively, not for sale or acclaim, but for the sake of the work itself—an act of quiet defiance in a market-driven era.

Born and raised in Indiana, Hedge served in the military from 1946 to 1947 and used G.I. Bill tuition assistance to study art at Ball State University. Inspired by the writings of László Moholy-Nagy (1895–1946), he moved to Chicago in 1949 to attend the Institute of Design, founded as the New Bauhaus by Moholy-Nagy in 1937. After graduating, Hedge relocated to New York in 1956, where he began working industrial paper used in highway construction—transforming the material into organic abstractions that bridge art, nature, and technology.

In 1965, Hedge radically reimagined his process by experimenting with acrylic paint. He poured pigment directly onto canvas, coaxing it into biomorphic shapes with a squeegee to create rhythmic compositions that balance control and chance. These works, often produced in sets, explore infinite variations of a single visual idea—each canvas an intimate meditation on movement, repetition, and restraint.

Hedge’s works are represented in the permanent collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and other major institutions.

Gene Hedge: Pieces Of The City will be accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue featuring an essay by Clanci Jo Conover.