Rachel B. Hayes’ specific textiles emitted in the vast landscape and sunshine interior – huge
From countless vivid, translucent fabrics, Rachel B., the Tulsa-based artist paused large-scale patchwork in spaces ranging from barns and greenhouses to open fields and lakes, and experimented with scale, color, color, pattern, light and movement in a joyful installation.
Hayes’s works are widely exhibited around the United States and Europe, often stretching like a sun sail on a courtyard. Her recent work “Horizon Drift” with Denver’s Black Cube includes a series of overlapping triangular elements that cast colorful shadows onto the sidewalks, similar to “moments” in Capri.
Hayes’ installations are usually just weeks or months, temporarily merged with the surroundings, paying tribute to the monumental fabric interventions of Jeanne-Claude and Christo. These pieces are carefully cleaned or woven, and also emphasize the joyful experience of lightness, breeze and long-lasting American stitching practice.
Hayes always likes to look back at early works and In-place Experiment to inform new works. “I still get so much inspiration and energy from temporary experiments…I keep going back to my favorite websites, I know it’s like the back of my hand, but I learn and see new things every time I visit,” she said. She often returns to various locations in South Dakota, Missouri and New Mexico to record work multiple times. The light, weather and changes of the landscape are always “read” in different ways, and she believes many of these works are part of the “long-term” of her practice.
Sometimes, Hayes’s work was installed for a while and she had become a “fabric engineer.” Several long-term projects may be installed outdoors for at least five years, challenging the artist to choose materials that have both visual effects and sustained elements. “It’s really exciting to try to find ways to make my outdoor experiment last longer,” she said.
Light, especially sunlight, plays an important role in Hayes’ composition and site selection, especially indoors, buildings and prescribed routes can affect how people move around and can view work. “I usually chase the sun and see where it peeks in the space with reflections and color stains, so it’s very important for me to make the right choice for the site,” she said. Although the artist uses software like Photoshop or Prodreate to form the overall pattern, she focuses on the physicality of the material and its unique interaction with different places.
Hayes’ installation is already in place Born with patterns All summer, at the Chicago Botanical Garden. You can also see her works Soft structure By August 8 at Jane Lombard Gallery in New York City and The first building of the body until August 10 at the Ely Center for Contemporary Art in New Haven, Connecticut.
Her semi-permanent exhibition can be seen at the International Quilt Museum in Lincoln, Nebraska and the gathering venues in Tulsa. And, if you find yourself in West Texas, Hayes’s flag is currently flying outside the Ballroom’s Mafa during the gallery’s opening hours. Explore more on the artist’s website and on Instagram.
You might also like Wally Dion’s translucent quilt to commemorate the Indigenous tradition.
