Wednesday, December 9, 2020

Hayley Barker: The World as Ecstatic Mystery


In “The Grass is Blue,” a series of paintings by Hayley Barker that just closed at SHRINE gallery in New York, nature is captured in colors that never appear in nature. Ferns are cobalt blue, poplars are deep purple, rivers run blue, red and marigold. The effect is somewhat holy. You look at the paintings and understand how, in pre-industrial times, people stood in nature, and experienced God. The unreality of the paintings, which nonetheless clearly reference the Earth, also belie exploitation.

- Brienne Walsh, reviewing "The Grass is Blue" in Forbes. Read the rest here

The work is a refreshing, ravishing treat for the eye and spirit.