Jeni’s and Artist CJ Hendry Collaborate on Bold New Flavor and Immersive NYC Pop-up
What happens when you take the vibrant, colorful, nostalgic experience of ice cream and rely on other senses to rethink how it should look and taste? Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams has joined forces with artist Cj Hendry for a provocative exploration of color and flavor. Launching on August 14, OPAQUE — both an all-black limited-edition ice cream and New York City pop-up — is a sensory experience that immerses viewers beyond the visual, reframes our relationship to ice cream, and uses fine art to explore the boundaries between art and consumption.
OPAQUE — a jet black ice cream made with black cocoa, espresso fudge, and balsamic cherry — strips the traditionally vibrant ice cream experience of all color. An edible work of art that speaks to Jeni’s roots in the art world, OPAQUE transforms a familiar treat into an experience that prompts guests to reconsider how they contextualize ice cream.
Developed around Cj Hendry’s simple yet open-to-interpretation directive of “black,” Jeni’s crafted a flavor that is not only shocking in its hue, but stop-you-in-your-tracks delicious. What initially appears monolithic and unfamiliar, by design, invites the imbiber to peel back the layers that exist within the ice cream without relying on visual cues to hint at the flavor. Ribbons of tart cherry balsamic jam (dyed black with all-natural ingredients) and creamy espresso fudge are encapsulated in rich cocoa ice cream, but, as the OPAQUE name suggests, become nearly indistinguishable from the ice cream itself. The resulting flavor is undeniably familiar and lies in stark contrast to its appearance.
To bring the flavor to life, Hendry and Jeni’s will unveil a three-day, immersive pop-up ice cream shop in New York City, open August 15–17. Known for her hyper-realistic artwork and immersive installations, Cj Hendry has inverted the colorful experience of ice cream, creating a completely monochromatic shop and unveiling seven new original works created exclusively for the collaboration and available for purchase, with the largest piece on display at the pop-up. Every detail — from the design of the sable space, to collaboration merch, limited edition prints, custom black ice cream cones (Jeni’s signature Buttercrisp Waffle Cones, turned black), and scoops of the flavor — is made to subvert the endless appeal of ice cream. As with the flavor itself, the pop-up shop is devoid of color, but as it unfolds, so too do the nuances of the space and the artwork.
“We wanted to create an experience that pushes sensory boundaries,” said Hendry. “Removing color makes you feel everything else more deeply — the texture, the taste, the emotion. It’s quiet, it’s bold, it’s unlike any other ice cream shop you’ve ever stepped inside.”
Jeni’s worked hand-in-hand with Hendry over several months to create OPAQUE, formulating a naturally black ice cream with layers of depth and contrast — just like Hendry’s work. “This wasn’t just about creating a ‘black’ flavor,” said Beth Stallings, Director of Innovation at Jeni’s. “It was about creating something that is layers deep, that feels like an excavation of flavor. With OPAQUE, guests will have to rely on their senses, allowing the flavor to unfold with each bite.”
The OPAQUE pop-up will be open to the public from August 15–17 from 12pm to 7pm, at 390 W Broadway, New York, NY 10012, offering both scoops and pints of OPAQUE. The limited-edition flavor will be available in all Jeni’s scoop shops and online at jenis.com starting August 14, with Cj’s collaboration works going on sale at 7pm on August 17 at cjhendrystudio.com.
