Fine Art
TRACY HAYES
Fine Artist
In July 2021, Myrna Haskell, executive editor, had the opportunity to chat with Tracy and view several of her works at MASS MoCA during the celebration of "An Unpredictable Time & Place," a Lesley University M.F.A. Thesis Exhibition. Tracy has since kept in touch, and we are eager to share her thoughts, process and inspiration with readers.
A Distracted Pause
Acrylic & Oil on Arches Watercolor Paper: 20 X 16 inches © Tracy Hayes |
Exhumation I
Charcoal, Acrylic & Oil on Canvas: 60 X 40 inches © Tracy Hayes |
Tracy Hayes shares her journey to the abstract.
Were you always drawn toward creating abstract work?
I worked representationally for a long time. I became aware of a nagging feeling that I had nothing additional to contribute, that it didn’t quite express whatever it was that was gnawing at me. At that time, I didn’t really have any examples of artists who had made this switch, so my segue was to turn away from painting for about five years in favor of printmaking.
Printmaking freed me from the preconceived notions I had about my work in terms of subject matter, material handling and composition, and I was able to experiment in a way that was very liberating. The process itself was meditative, and in hindsight, it allowed me to tap into a more essential core than I might have otherwise. My current work still evolves from those early explorations with mark and rotational imagery which fights at times to remain connected to ground.
Were you always drawn toward creating abstract work?
I worked representationally for a long time. I became aware of a nagging feeling that I had nothing additional to contribute, that it didn’t quite express whatever it was that was gnawing at me. At that time, I didn’t really have any examples of artists who had made this switch, so my segue was to turn away from painting for about five years in favor of printmaking.
Printmaking freed me from the preconceived notions I had about my work in terms of subject matter, material handling and composition, and I was able to experiment in a way that was very liberating. The process itself was meditative, and in hindsight, it allowed me to tap into a more essential core than I might have otherwise. My current work still evolves from those early explorations with mark and rotational imagery which fights at times to remain connected to ground.
Exhumations of Structures of Culture II
Charcoal, Acrylic & Oil on Unstretched Canvas: 108 X 54 inches © Tracy Hayes |
Wherein Lies the Cut, the Inflicted Wound II
Graphite, Charcoal, Ink, Acrylic & Oil on Heavyweight Bee paper: 108 X 36 inches © Tracy Hayes |
Replicate and Sublimate
Graphite, Watercolor Pencil, Watercolor & Collage on Canson Watercolor Paper: 15 X 18 inches © Tracy Hayes |
ARTIST STATEMENT: "Imagery remains vaguely subterranean and emerges from a process that is as reliant upon drawn media as upon painted. Earthen references are reiterated within tonal palette. There are glimpses of what lies within, though entry is barred. Billowing shapes hold the viewer aloft and safely at a distance as access points emerge in one instance to then break apart in another. Structures appear briefly only to dissipate and dissolve. These works seek to make sense of a world just outside of reach, beckoning yet elusive." ~ Tracy Hayes |
Name one or two artists who have inspired your work.
I imagine a dialogue with so many great women artists whose broad shoulders I stand on, but the two who endure recently are: Joan Mitchell and Joanne Greenbaum.
Joan Mitchell’s compositions are comprised of what I perceive as many broken bits and spaces which embody the essence of ‘aftermath’ – as something hopeful, yet resigned – arising from the mess of what had previously occurred. Joanne Greenbaum’s structures build up within her work, teetering on the brink of complete chaos and held together by powers unbeknownst to me.
There’s a clarity to each of these artist’s works, which may seem complicated and inaccessible at first but slowly disclose rationale over time.
I imagine a dialogue with so many great women artists whose broad shoulders I stand on, but the two who endure recently are: Joan Mitchell and Joanne Greenbaum.
Joan Mitchell’s compositions are comprised of what I perceive as many broken bits and spaces which embody the essence of ‘aftermath’ – as something hopeful, yet resigned – arising from the mess of what had previously occurred. Joanne Greenbaum’s structures build up within her work, teetering on the brink of complete chaos and held together by powers unbeknownst to me.
There’s a clarity to each of these artist’s works, which may seem complicated and inaccessible at first but slowly disclose rationale over time.
INSTALLATION PHOTO: MASS MoCA ~ Lesley University M.F.A. Thesis Exhibition
Exhumations of Structures of Culture I Wherein Lies the Cut, the Inflicted Wound II Exhumations of Structures of Culture I © Tracy Hayes |
INSTALLATION PHOTO: "Troubling the Space" ~ Lesley University
Collaboration with Deb Read (Left) Wherein Lies the Cut, the Inflicted Wound II (© Tracy Hayes) (Center) Sculpture: Skeleton Box #2: Power (© Deb Read) (Right) Wherein Lies the Cut, the Inflicted Wound I (© Tracy Hayes) Photo Courtesy: Tracy Hayes |
Wherein Lies the Cut, the Inflicted Wound I
Installation View: Nashua, NH ~ 2020: 108 X 50 inches © Tracy Hayes |
What mediums do you like to work with the most?
I vacillate between drawn media and painted media, often combining the two – rebounding from one to the other as I get stuck. There is something very comforting about the motion of drawing implements – its shape and heft within my hand, the drag and scratch of it on almost any surface. But I equally feel the need to explore the boundaries of the sensation and potential with wet-paint media – how it covers the surface, the tension between degrees of transparency and the surprise of color interactions. Where do you find sanctuary?
I often think I do my best thinking while wandering in the woods. The balm of natural surroundings grounds me, resets my daily intentions, returns me to me. Answers, new questions and associations often come to me while I’m out walking, coalescing into ideas that don’t present themselves in other settings. |
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Tracy Hayes is a mixed media artist who has been exhibiting her work since 2012. She is a native of Montreal and has lived in the U.S. since the 1990s when she attended the University of New Hampshire and received a B.A. in French. Tracy also earned a B.F.A. from New Hampshire Institute of Art in 2012 and recently completed an M.F.A. at Lesley University in 2021.
As to her work, restless mark-making explorations build across media, from intimate drawings and collages to larger paintings. Themes of amplitude and de-escalation, compression and expansion are pervasive, as is the overall subterranean feel of her work which is echoed by a tonal palette preference and hinged to an interest in the metaphoric space of below and behind the surface. EXHIBITIONS:
Flat File Program A.P.E. Gallery Northampton, MA Continues with 2022 Online Catalogue Troubling the Space "Art Everywhere" Initiative Collaborative Installation with Deb Read Lesley University Cambridge, MA Through April 15, 2022 |
Photo Credit: Erin Iwaskiewicz
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