Paula Hayes

IMAGINATIVE TERRARIUMS BY PAULA HAYES COMING TO WEX

RECENT & NEW WORK, INCLUDING NEW SITE-SPECIFIC OUTDOOR INSTALLATION

"Fantastical herbaceous art pieces….magical biospheres"—New York Times, on Paula Hayes's works



Columbus, OH—Paula Hayes, on view at the Wexner Center September 16–December 30, 2011, will feature a selection of recent sculpture alongside newly commissioned work. This New York-based artist is best known for her creative work with organic materials, particularly her terrariums.

Playing the roles of gardener and sculptor, Hayes crafts industrial materials such as hand-blown glass, silicone, and cast acrylic into organic shapes which she fills with a rich variety of plant life, minerals, and crystals. These works, ranging from large site-specific sculptures to terrariums mounted on pedestals, to constellations of "micro-terrariums," deftly balance the environmental needs of plant life with a desire to create inventive sculptural forms. The Wexner Center will present eight to ten works from the past two years, among them new projects created specifically for this exhibition. In keeping with Hayes's commitment to the care of these living sculptures, the plants will be tended by select Ohio State University students during gallery hours.

Christopher Bedford, the Wexner Center's chief curator of exhibitions, who organized this exhibition, says, "Hayes's strikingly inventive use of organic matter infuses typically hermetic gallery spaces with life—quite literally—connecting the museum to the concerns of the natural world. Paula's work exists on a unique threshold between Minimalist sculpture, conceptual art, landscape design, and simple gardening, allowing the work she does as an artist to connect with a very diverse and unusual community."

Hayes is also creating the Wexner Center Roof Garden just outside the Wexner Center’s entrance, which will feature hearty sedum plants, perennial plantings, grasses, and sculptural planters. The garden—which will grow and thrive in all four seasons—will be a permanent addition to the Wexner Center.

To accompany this exhibition, the Wexner Center will publish an illustrated gallery guide, featuring an essay by Bedford, as well as an app, available on preloaded iPod Touches available at the Wexner Center.

An opening event for this exhibition and the other fall shows will be held Thursday, September 15, 6–7:30 PM for members, and 7:30–9:30 PM for the general public; with media availability 4–6 pm (please contact Karen Simonian at 614-292-9923 or ksimonian@wexarts.org to schedule interviews).

Hayes will return for a public artist's talk Wednesday, November 16 at 7 pm.

About the artist

Paula Hayes supported herself as a gardener during her college years, receiving an M.A. in sculpture from Parsons School of Design. A landscape designer and artist, she has been commissioned to design and execute gardens for multiple public and private spaces, including Hauser & Wirth Gallery in New York, W Hotel Landscape in Miami, and Bauhaus University in Weimar, Germany. Her exhibition Nocturne of the Limax maximus was on view November 2010 through April 2011 in the lobby of New York's Museum of Modern Art, and she has also been featured in exhibitions at Marianne Boesky Gallery and Salon 94 in New York; and Rhona Hoffman Gallery in Chicago. Hayes's work has been in group exhibitions at the Queens Museum of Art, Weatherspoon Museum in North Carolina, Deitch Projects in New York, and Galerie Daniel Bucholtz in Cologne. Hayes lives and works in Brooklyn.

Paula Hayes’s website and blog

CBS News Sunday Morning piece from January 16, 2011, on “The Growing Trend of Terrariums,” featuring Paula Hayes and her work.

Low-resolution press image selection

These images are provided exclusively to the press and may only be used for promotional purposes directly related to the corresponding Wexner Center for the Arts exhibition, or surrounding events. All reproductions must be accompanied by the proper credit line and copyright information provided below. Images must be reproduced as presented here and may not be distorted, mutilated, or cropped without permission. For hi-res images or more information, please contact Karen Simonian (614) 292-9923 or Tim Fulton (614) 688-3261.

Click each image to view.

1.

Paula Hayes Cabinet of Currency, 2010 Cast acrylic with power objects 36 x 7 x 6 in. (91.4 x 17.8 x 15.2 cm) Courtesy of the artist Photo: John Gray

2.

Paula Hayes Giant Dome Terrarium GT101 on Iceberg Pedestal, 2009 Rigid foam with painted epoxy, handblown glass with plants, full-spectrum lighting Terrarium: 18 x 25 1/2 in. (45.7 x 64.8 cm) Pedestal: 39 x 39 x 38 in. (99.1 x 99.1 x 96.5 cm) Courtesy of the artist Photo: Jason Wyche

3.	4.
Paula Hayes Crystal Garden MG035, 2010 Handblown glass with gems 21 x 19 x 13 1/2 in. (53.3 x 48.3 x 34.3 cm) Courtesy of the artist Photo: John Gray	Paula Hayes Micro Terrarium MT16 (from the installation Hills and Clouds), 2011 Hand-blown glass with plantings Approx. 3 x 4 x 4 inches (7.6 x 10.2 x 10.2 cm) Courtesy of the artist

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Exhibition support

The Wexner Center’s fall exhibitions are made possible by a significant contribution from Battelle.

The Wexner Center Roof Garden has been made possible through the generosity of The Trueman Family with significant additional support from Ohio State’s office of Facilities Operations and Development.

The Wexner Center also receives generous support from the Greater Columbus Arts Council, The Columbus Foundation, Nationwide Foundation, and the Ohio Arts Council, as well as from the Corporate Annual Fund of the Wexner Center Foundation and Wexner Center members.

Wednesday, May 23rd

• FILM/VIDEO
  • THE BOX
    Karrabing! Low Tide Turning
• EXHIBITIONS
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  • Omer Fast: 2001/11
  • Alina Szapocznikow: Sculpture Undone, 1955‒1972
• PUBLIC PROGRAMS
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  • An Evening with Carrie Fisher