2019

 The Neon Museum is proud to announce the selection of Julie Henson as its 2019 National Artist in Residence. 

Henson was selected out of a list of 82 applicants and will be joining the Museum for eight weeks this summer. During her Neon Museum residency, she plans to create a series of works based on the signage, graphic design and advertising from the collection of the Neon Museum and around Las Vegas. She will investigate the ways in which myth and narrative are employed in signage to express desire, risk, luck and fortune. 

Her residency will take place from June 26 to August 21 and will encompass several opportunities for public engagement, including an open studio event Friday, August 16 for the benefit of Southern Nevada residents. The full-residency programming schedule will be announced in the coming weeks.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Henson currently works and lives in Los Angeles. Incorporating both sculpture and digital technology, her work calls into question the pervasive messages of desire, fame, and success to reveal how media shapes the perception of ourselves and our culture. Henson received her bachelor of arts in Sculpture and Art History from the College of Charleston in 2005 and her master of fine arts from California College of the Arts in 2011. She has had solo exhibitions at Anat Ebgi, Los Angeles; the Columbia Museum of Art, South Carolina; and Yes Ma’am Projects, Denver. Henson has participated in group shows including the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, the Ben Maltz Gallery Los Angeles and the Torrance Art Museum. Her work has been featured in Artforum, Elephant Magazine, and Hyperallergic.