Artist

Wally Hedrick

American, 1928–2003

Wally Hedrick was an American Abstract Expressionism artist. 1 work is cataloged here, principally at Museum of Modern Art. Wally Hedrick was born in Pasadena.

Wally Bill Hedrick (1928 – December 17, 2003) was a seminal American artist in the 1950s California counterculture, gallerist, and educator who came to prominence in the early 1960s. Hedrick's contributions to art include pioneering artworks in psychedelic light art, mechanical kinetic sculpture, junk/assemblage sculpture, Pop Art, and (California) Funk Art. Later in his life, he was a recognized forerunner in Happenings, Conceptual Art, Bad Painting, Neo-Expressionism, and image appropriation.

Hedrick was also a key figure in the first important public manifestation of the Beat Generation when he helped to organize the Six Gallery Reading, and created the first artistic denunciation of American foreign policy in Vietnam. Wally Hedrick was known as an "idea artist" long before the label conceptual art entered the art world, and experimented with innovative use of language in art, at times resorting to puns.

Works by Wally Hedrick

Collections represented

Catalog records compiled from museum open-access collections; the artworks shown are in the public domain. Spotted an error in this record? Tell us.