Rachel Hayes, Studio View, Tulsa, Oklahoma
Lowell Ryan Projects is to present Land Lines, a solo exhibition by Tulsa, Oklahoma based artist Rachel Hayes. Land Lines features twelve large-scale panels composed of colorful fabric segments sewn into perpendicular, grid-like arrangements. The polyester, nylon and cotton fabric pieces, varying in size and opacity, are stitched together creating works that utilize painterly games of color, composition, and light. The materiality of the panels creates an engagement between the site, the work, and the viewpoints created.
Ethereal and geometric, each panel staggered throughout the gallery reaches from floor to ceiling at 13 feet high. Viewers will be encouraged to wander through the maze-like installation and experience shifting patterns of color and light as sheer sections frame the panels behind and around them. Confronted with the scale of Hayes’ work, viewer’s perceptions of space are challenged, while the rhythm of pattern begs the viewer to slow down and contemplate the experience.
Hayes interjects color and form into both architectural and natural environments using scale and the inherent responsiveness of the delicate fabric to create reflective experiences. She sometimes installs and photographs her work in nature where, billowing in the wind, the pieces insert themselves into the surrounding environment. When installed indoors, the works ripple in response to viewers and come alive when seen.
The exhibition title Land Lines references literal lines such as horizon lines or sight lines and in the case of this exhibition, the architecture of the gallery and the intersection of the work within the space, the clean lines of the handmade panels crisscrossing the room.
Lowell Ryan Projects Rachel Hayes Land Lines May 16th – June 27th, 2020 @lowellryanprojects
About The Artist
Rachel Hayes received her BFA in Fiber from the Kansas City Art Institute, and her MFA in Painting from Virginia Commonwealth University. Often using fabric to create large-scale work, she is interested in inserting color and form into both built and natural environments. She is a recipient of the Joan Mitchell Award in Painting and Sculpture, Augustus Saint-Gaudens Memorial Fellowship in Sculpture, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Professional Fellowship in Sculpture, Virginia Commission for the Arts Fellowship in Sculpture, and a Charlotte Street Fund Award. Hayes has attended the Marie Walsh Sharpe Space Program, New York; Sculpture Space Residency, New York; Art Omi International Artists’ Residency, New York, Roswell Artist-in-Residence program in Roswell, NM, and the Tulsa Artist Fellowship in Tulsa, OK. She has shown her work at the Sculpture Center in New York; Taubman Museum of Art, Virginia; Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas; Roswell Museum of Art, New Mexico; Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site, New Hampshire; and with BravinLee Programs. Recently, Rachel has collaborated with the Italian fashion house Missoni, culminating with a solo exhibition. Her work has been covered by The New York Times, The Cut, Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, and Artforum among others.
