We first discovered CJ Hendry hyper-realistic drawings at the end of last year and were stunned immediately.
In early April this year we launched the Art Hunter in Sydney in conjunction with Jaguar and introduced CJ Hendry’s work as one of the featured elements of the occasion. Her reputation took off like a rocket and her work is selling out at record time.
For those who have just discovered The Cool Hunter or CJ Hendry, here’s some of the background story.
Her rise is extraordinary in the art world as it has all happened in just six short months. It is a testament to her talent and once again, a testament also to what we call ‘The Cool Hunter Effect.’ We hear about it all the time. How careers have taken off, reputations have been established, sales taken off because we have featured their work on The Cool Hunter.
We are happy to be the catalyst and supporter of excellent work, but CJ Hendry is unusual even among the ones we’ve supported before. So much so, that we became her exclusive agents/gallery.
And we HAVE supported her from the start because we saw the striking talent and the strong appeal of her old-school hand-drawn artistry in today’s technology-heavy world.
A few days prior to opening the Art Hunter, we posted an image of one of CJ Hendry’s works on Instagram to introduce her as one of the many artists we’ve been showcasing.
Within a few hours, we had received more than 50 enquiries from international buyers wanting to buy the piece we just posted. We did the same thing the following day and posted a different image and continued that a few days in a row. The result: All of her works were sold BEFORE we even opened The Art Hunter!
And this is how 90% of CJ’s work have been selling ever since. We recently introduced her playing card series, also on Instagram, and sold out the entire set within five days. All 54 cards, including two Jokers
Her $50K Fashion IT Bag series sold out. Her Boxing gloves were sold to a buyer in Saudia Arabia, the Nike ball went to London, the basketball to an employer at Apple in San Francisco. Even Kanye West now has one of CJ’s pieces.
Her mailing list now exceeds 1000, all serious potential buyers wanting to know what’s next.
So, to market her work further, we have wanted to take a new route, to continue to do things differently. To put an extraordinary talent into the boring same-old, white-walled art-gallery setting somehow just did not make sense to us. Her work deserved to be the talk of the town, an event, a happening, a celebration.
We decided to showcase her work in a private home in Sydney – a perfect match to her talent. After a long period of scouting, we found the incredible house that fits the style of CJ Hendry’s work impeccably.
It is a two-storey warehouse in Surry Hills converted to what is possibly Sydney’s coolest house. Home to a young savvy entrepreneur who likes to entertain, the house features its own private nightclub complete with gold bar, see-through glass smoking room, four bedrooms/bathrooms, a pool that looks into the nightclub and a super impressive sound system.
Plus a sleeping pod shaped like a UFO – the owner’s bedroom. The house alone offers limitless talking points, yet it served perfectly as the background for CJ’s pieces. They literally belong there. Neither overpowers the other, both the art and the house get to shine, they are flawlessly aligned.
Opening night was a huge success with over 500 people turning up to an art event they hadn’t experienced before – all being driven to and from the space courtesy of Uber.
The CJ Hendry art show residence was open only for four days to the public (4 Dec – 7 Dec). All the works sold out, 95% were sold before we even opened the doors and only 3 were available on opening night which were snapped up fast.
The gold bar in the private nightclub with flowers by Melbourne based florist FLEURS who we flew up for the event to create flower installations within the space. The gold flowers on the bar were sprayed 24 carat gold.
Pool balls, gold sofa and gold flowers.
Cj’s sports artworks
The entrance to the private nightclub was a perfect setting to display Cj’s playing card and pool ball series.
The bathroom in the private nightclub.
We had 2 large grazing tables that our talented event guru Natalie Longheon from Just Add Cream had created. Natalie also did the event design and production and we have used her previously for the Art Hunter & Summer Lovers Store.
The food was the talk of the night, super quality provided by the Louis Vuitton of butchers – Victor Churchill in Woollahra and incredible cheeses by Salt Meat Cheese in Alexandria. Mud Australia provided the plate ware
Guests admiring the detail in CJ Hendry’s work
The house was designed by Peter Ireland and interiors by Kelly Ross of The Gentry.
Admirers taking selfies in front of CJ’s work.
A huge thanks to our sponsors: Penfolds wine, Ciroc Vodka, San Pellegrino, Peroni, Rekorderlig Cider.
Up close and personal
“Can you believe this is an actual drawing’ was the most frequently overheard comment of the night.
– In March 2015, we’ll be showcasing CJ’s new works in Melbourne in yet another exceptional, un-gallery space.
– And Summer 2015, we’ll show more of CJ’s works in New York City and Art Basel Miami.
– CJ is exclusively represented by TCH. To be updated on CJ’s upcoming works and to get on her mailing list, send an email to – bill@thecoolhunter.net
Photos by David Wheeler and Damien Milan.
CJ Hendry is exclusively represented by thecoolhunter
