Sandler Hudson Gallery is pleased to announce its upcoming exhibition, Pile-O-Smiles by Portland, Oregon artist, Michael T. Hensley. Hensley will exhibit mixed-media works on canvas and panel.

These works, mostly autobiographical, reveal much about the subconscious as well as the outside world. Heavily textured and layered, they center on the practice of mark making. The artist employs various mediums including: house paint, spray paint, pencil, collage, crayon, and paint pens. The paint is applied with house painting tools: rags, brushes and random sharp objects. The surfaces are dense, colorful and packed with hidden imagery steeped in a graffiti tradition.

As the world shutdown in 2020, Hensley began to question the worthiness of art. With the onslaught of Covid and all that came with it, making art seemed frivolous and somewhat irresponsible. Hensley found himself working in fits and starts. Despite his reluctance to create, a provocative body of work emerged.

Michael T. Hensley was born Charlottesville, Virginia in 1967 and currently lives and works in Portland, Oregon. He studied sculpture and drawing at the Bronze Craft Foundry in Charlottesville before studying at the Pacific Northwest College of Art and receiving a BA from Portland State University in 1998. His work is included in the public collections of the City of Seattle, City of Portland, the Modera Hotel, and Oregon Health and Sciences University. Twitter also has a piece in it’s corporate collection. He has also completed numerous public commissions in Portland for Outside/In, and Tri-Met. He is currently represented by Sandler Hudson Gallery, Atlanta GA, Costello Childs Contemporary Art in Scottsdale AZ, and William Havu Gallery Denver, CO.

Solo exhibitions include William Havu Gallery, Denver CO; Stumptown Artist Fellowship and exhibition, Portland OR; Linda Hodges Gallery, Seattle OR; Nationale, Portland OR; Russo Lee Gallery, The Office, Portland OR; Linda Hodges Gallery, Seattle WA; Mark Woolley Gallery, Portland OR; Sandler Hudson Gallery, Atlanta GA; Linda Hodges Gallery, Seattle WA; Mark Woolley Gallery, Portland OR; PRESENTspace, Portland OR; Manor of Art, Portland OR; Manor of Art, Portland OR; Mark Woolley Gallery, Portland OR; Mark Woolley Gallery, Portland OR; Mark Woolley Gallery, Portland OR; Mark Woolley Gallery, Portland OR; Blackfish Gallery, Portland OR; Blackfish Gallery, Portland OR. Public Art includes Outside/In building facade mural and interior mural, Portland OR; Tri-Met bus shelter glass design, Portland OR; Outside/In Virginia Woof exterior mural, Portland OR; SRS Installation, Portland Building, Portland OR; Outside/In new facility/building facade, Portland, OR Collections include Portable Works Collection, City of Portland, Portland, OR; Oregon Health and Sciences University collection, Portland, OR; Portable Works Collection, City of Seattle, Seattle, WA; Modera Hotel, Portland, OR; Microsoft, Redmond, WA; Twitter, San Francisco, CA; Ralph Lauren, NYC, NY; Field Office, Portland OR. Selected reviews and publications include Willamette Week, review, 2002, The Oregonian, July 14th 2006, Brian Libby, Art News, Review, July 2008, Richard Speer, Seattle Weekly, February, 2015, Kelton Sears, Burnaway, September 2015, Orion Wentz.

Hensley holds a BA from Portland State University (1995-1998), Pacific NW College of Art (1994-1995). Representation Includes Sandler Hudson Gallery, Atlanta, GA; Costello Contemporary Art, Scottsdale AZ; William Havu Gallery, Denver, CO.