Details:
① Artwork:
Moth Trapped in a Rose Knot
This colorful painting symmetrically centers a series of anthropomorphic objects inside a chain border. The artist uses the border as a means of protecting the contents of the painting from escaping this fleeting, magical scene. Hayden arranges her paintings by removing clutter, leaving a full composition where objects float harmoniously in midair without touching each other or the edge of the chain border.
In her work, Hayden reiterates a handful of objects in various sizes, colors and contexts. The artist treats these objects as prized possessions—somewhere between souvenirs and icons. Hayden frequently chooses natural objects she considers to have a mysterious existence—rainbows, colorful fruits, shooting stars, tropical flowers and iridescent butterflies. She often anthropomorphizes these objects with sleepy, anxious or mischievous human faces.
Hayden's recent work frequently includes depictions of moths, focusing on their natural symmetry. The artist likes to imagine the moth in perfect solitude inside its cocoon—quietly transforming while awaiting a dramatic entrance.
Specs:
③ Artist:
Rachel Hayden’s paintings seek order in chaos by puzzle-piecing together a handful of objects into balanced and symmetrical compositions. The artist creates full yet uncluttered canvases where figures float harmoniously in midair without touching. Hayden’s work repeatedly depicts different iterations of a small number of natural subjects, such as rainbows and shooting stars—often anthropomorphized with human faces.
BIO:
Rachel Hayden was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1992. The artist received a BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, Maryland in 2015.
Solo exhibitions of Hayden’s work have taken place at: Andrew Rafacz Gallery in Chicago, Illinois (2021); Bim Bam Gallery in Paris, France (2021); Resort Gallery in Baltimore, Maryland (2020); First Amendment Gallery in San Francisco, California (2019); and The Bermuda Project in St. Louis, Missouri (2017).
Group exhibitions that have shown Hayden’s work have taken place at: Greenpoint Terminal Gallery in Brooklyn, New York; 5-50 Gallery in Queens, New York; Legion Projects in Healdsburg, California; Circle Culture in Berlin and Hamburg, Germany; and Wunderwall in Antwerp, Belgium; among others.
