Gregory Hayes
Boundaries Made of Smoke

Dimmitt Contemporary Art

3637 W Alabama St #160, Houston, TX
May 12th – June 9th 2022

Opening Reception: Thursday, May 12th, 5 - 8 pm

Dimmitt Contemporary Art is pleased to announce BOUNDARIES MADE OF SMOKE, an exhibition of new paintings by Brooklyn-based artist Gregory Hayes. An opening reception and poem reading will be held on Thursday, May 12, 2022  from 5:00 - 8:00pm. The exhibition will be on view through June 9, 2022.

Known for his intricate and harmonious work, Hayes will present 8 new, large-scale paintings from his on-going ‘Color Array’ series, displaying the artist’s use of paint drops arranged in systematic succession to create multi-hued, geometric formations. The exhibition will also see the artist further his exploration of color interactions through his new, diamond-shaped pattern.

At first sight, Hayes’ paintings may seem woven from fabric or constructed of glass mosaics; such an effect is created by his meticulous technique of individually dripping small, jewel-like globes of swirling, colored acrylic paint into the cells of a hand-drawn 1/4 inch grid. This process reveals the paint's natural ability to freely form shapes and patterns on the surface of the canvas, highlighting the multitude of intentional and unintentional color interactions. While Hayes laboriously uses paint to create a multi-dimensional space and kaleidoscopic-like texture that challenges the viewer's perception, his paintings convey a feeling of effortlessness and serenity.

Of his work, Hayes writes, “To me, painting—one of the most conventional of disciplines—is ultimately one of the most experimental, exhilarating, and enduring of all media…. My objective is to heighten the viewer’s sensitivity to subtle variations and to reveal that pictorial complexity can be achieved through a restricted vocabulary.”

Gregory Hayes (b. 1980 Buffalo, New York) received his BFA in painting from Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design, and his MFA from Brooklyn College. Notable museum exhibitions include Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, and Museum of Contemporary Art Denver. He was included in the Millay Colony for the Arts, and Fire Island Pines Arts Project residencies. Awards include ArtBridge “Works in Progress” Honorarium, and Most Distinguished Artist from the Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design. His work has been featured in XIBT Magazine, Artoday and Artspeak New York. Hayes lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. 

Boundaries Made of Smoke

I hand you the flower I found in my dream

above the star cast sky

from the world of make believe

some would say

but any given day, we can

do the things we are taught

impossible to believe

they are not so

the end of one world

and the beginning of this one

cast in stone

no, exhale away

boundaries made of smoke

integrate the heartbeat

with whispering winds

breathe with the waves of lively shores

close your eyes like you set the sun

all this we do

seemingly

unknowingly

until, you awaken

holding the flowers from your dreams

-gdh