"My studio is located right next to McCarren Park in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. I've been here almost three years now. I’m not attached to any of the objects in my studio but rather, I am attached to the location and buildings that are outside of it. On my left side there is the BQE, the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, a highway under which we had our very first M/L Artspace show.

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On my right there is McCarren Park which is a large public park that has an outdoor pool in the summer and an ice skating rink in the winter. It was built by Robert Moses and is one of his larger pools from 1936. The building's vast scale and dramatic arches, designed by Moses's architect Aymar Embury II, are well-built examples of the generous and heroic spirit of New Deal architecture.The pool was closed for 26 years and in the meantime was used as an event site. A gig by Sonic Youth closed out the concert era before the pool was redone and reopened in 2012, right when I moved my studio, just a block away from there. In the summer I go there almost everyday since the entry is free of charge.

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So lately I have been fascinated by the age-old genre of public place, sculpture parks and urban planing, probably because of the surroundings near my studio. In fact I’m reading "The Power Broker" right now. I’m half way through the massive 1200 page biography of the “satanic majesty” version of Robert Moses, written by Robert Caro. It's a hidden story of the shaping (and mis-shaping) of New York throughout the last century by a single man, Moses. Right after I will read Jane Jacobs's "The Death and Life of Great American Cities" as a counterpart to the male view. She was one of the first people to challenge Moses with her romantic and folksy Joan of Arc point of view.

Right now I’m looking into outdoor sculpture parks made by single individuals which reflect their creator's unique artistic vision. I started my research this spring in Italy when I visited the Sacro Bosco Garden in Bomarzo. Built in the 16th century, it is a fantasy land with astonishing objects carved out of bedrock. After its creator - Pier Orsini - died, the garden was forgotten for over two hundred years until it was rediscovered and restored. Many Surrealists admired this place, such as Jean Cocteau and Salvador Dali. In addition, when she saw Sacro Bosco, Niki de Saint Phalle got especially inspired for her Tarot Garden which is only 2 hours away form Bomarzo. I will continue my extensive sculpture park tour in Marfa, Texas this summer, followed by a visit to Mexico in winter to see Edward James' architectual monument, Las Pozas. You will see the inspiration and progress from my adventures in my upcoming shows at "Real Fine Arts" in New York, Kunstverein Dortmund in Germany and "S.A.L.T.S." in Switzerland.

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When asked to name what I need to have around me in my studio, I must say, it's really my friends. My studio has a laissez-faire attitude, and my landlady loves it when we have parties here. I love to bring people together and threw a very energetic Halloween Party last year which will definitely happen again this October!"

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Lena Henke is represented by Real Fine Arts, New York.