Morrigan Hayes 

Morrigan Hayes is a contemporary figurative painter interested in the human face and figure as endlessly expressive and individual. She is drawn to the subtle physical differences that make one person's expression distinctly their own, such as the way emotion alters the shape of an eyelid, the tension of a mouth, the position of a hand, or the posture of a body.

Her practice begins with close observation, but observation alone is not enough. Hayes is interested in the process of looking closely enough to understand what a person is communicating, particularly in moments when nothing is being said, and then translating that understanding into paint. Her subjects are deliberately varied. She resists the tendency toward generic or idealized portraiture in favor of the particularity of individual faces, bodies, gestures, and expressions.

Painting allows Hayes to make visible her own way of seeing. Rather than reproducing photographic information, she selectively emphasizes, simplifies, or alters what she observes. Every brushstroke becomes a deliberate choice. Her developing practice has moved from exhaustive observation toward a more intuitive hierarchy of what matters most to her eye, with color increasingly functioning not only to describe light but also to shape emotion and atmosphere.

Ultimately, Hayes hopes her paintings invite viewers to look longer and more closely. She wants them to experience something of the fascination she feels when studying another person, and perhaps to recognize something of themselves in the process.

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