"Upon entering a room full of my work, one might first notice color, scale and structure. My palette consists of various manufactured transparent fabrics and translucent plastic vinyls which I layer on top of one another, resulting in the creation of new colors. The top layer of material masks, consumes or transforms the underlying materials, changing their original properties. It has been suggested that I use the tactic of bait and switch, luring the viewer with visceral color and sensuous materials while introducing other issues to ponder. These works are not only color studies - the material itself has a rich history and suggestive nature which I capitalize on. The fabrics and vinyls are not only objects with boundless properties for manipulation, but also signifiers of gender, fashion, decoration, gesture, etc. For example the vinyl may be seen as 'sexy' while the transparent fabrics are more 'passive' or feminine. I manipulate these materials, considering their suggestive nature and nuance, while also concentrating on painterly and sculptural concerns such as form, line, color, space, surface and texture. The work often takes on a large scale, creating tension between the sewn, somewhat delicate materials associated with 'women's work', and the aggressive architectural context more commonly associated with 'masculine' modern art." 

2003

Rachel Hayes earned her BFA from the Kansas City Art Instituteand participated in its Study Abroad Programs in Florence, Italy, and Paris, France. She also attended classes at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle, Maine, and was a foreign exchange student in Higashimurayama,Japan.

Hayes' work has been shown in solo exhibitions at the Joseph Nease Gallery in Kansas City, Missouri, and in numerous group exhibitions around the Kansas City area including Johnson County Community College, Kansas State University and H&R Block Artspace. Reviews of these and other exhibitions have appeared in the Kansas City Star and Art Papers Magazine. Awards include a one-year residency at the Roswell Artist-in-Residence Program, Roswell, New Mexico; an installation commission by The Surface Design Association at the Jacob Javitz Convention Center in New York with artist Kristina Knuth; and 
Outstanding Artist Award at the Kansas City Art Institute.

<www.rachelhayes.com>

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