Gregory Hayes's Page

“Most of this is about the paint, about trying to control it. But paint has its properties, a life of its own. Trying to understand how it will behave becomes scientific; making an attempt is the only way to know. Through these attempts I gain an understanding that I then try to communicate. I am saying something with the paint. As a painter this is my voice.”

Gregory Hayes

Born in Buffalo, New York, 1980.

Hayes’ most recent paintings, the Primary Array series, explore the elusive behavior of prime numbers. In these paintings, he is acting as an interpreter of his own vision, while following the mathematical rules of prime numbers to discover some order in their sequence. There are many unanswered questions about prime numbers and why they behave as they do. Hayes works in a methodical, systematic process, with an uncontrollable and relentless perpetuity, to examine primary numbers' ability to create shapes and patterns when they are distributed in set ranges on predetermined arrays.

Hayes is also exploring the idea of brushless painting using a paint drip method. This involves applying paint to the surface of the canvas and allowing it to form natural convex circles. Gravitational force causes the paint to form these circles in a very uniform manner. This process also reveals the relationship between the interaction of the paint’s own properties and the artist’s manipulation of the paint.

Hayes is an alumnus of the Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design, where he was named Most Distinguished Artist, and of the State University of New York. He received his MFA in Painting from the City University of New York, Brooklyn College where he studied with Vito Acconci. Hayes is featured in the 2011 North American Graduate Art Survey and recently had a solo exhibition at RULE Gallery in Denver, CO. Hayes also received a 2011 Professional-Development Honorable Mention in the Visual Arts from the College Art Association and was selected to be the resident artist at the Fire Island Pines Art Project in New York.

Furthermore, Hayes is a carpenter, surfer, skateboarder and musician who plays multiple percussion and string instruments. He was also a professional snowboarder and has lived in the Rocky Mountains, Sierra Mountains, Cascade Mountains and the Southern Alps of New Zealand.

He lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.