PRESS RELEASE
Jen Wink Hays: Headlong
May 5 – May 26, 2023
New York, NY – Sears-Peyton Gallery is pleased to present Jen Wink Hays’ third solo exhibition, Headlong. This show furthers Hays’ negotiation with color and form. Hays’ new work explores subtle connections in large scale paintings with nuanced palettes. Color relationships are the driving force for Hays’ idiosyncratic compositions. She “responds to broken patterns” in the world, which is reflected in the unpredictability and playfulness of her work. Awkward and eccentric forms stack into oblong spheres, piles, and stripes, vibrating and tumbling in perpetual motion. Competing gestures of movement and stillness invigorate these complex worlds.
Oil on canvas pieces will be exhibited alongside Secret Chief a 80 inch high sculpture made of natural rope, paper mache, acrylic, and lacquer. Paintings often appear to be populated with her constructed objects. “Some of the forms are vaguely 3D or seem to reference something from the real world, but these are isolated cases and are almost always surrounded by choices that disrupt any kind of illusion or reference,” says Hays.
Jen Wink Hays is based in Philadelphia, PA. She has exhibited nationally and internationally, including New York City, Los Angeles, Miami, London, Edinburgh and Milan. Her work is included in the permanent collection at the Zillman Art Museum. Hays' recent solo shows include Obstacle Course (2022) with Arusha Gallery in both London and Bruton locations, Valley Low (2021) at the Zillman Art Museum, Wondrous Ponderous (2019) and Playing Field (2018) both with Sears Peyton Gallery in New York City. In 2017, Hays' brought her show Vacationland to Miami's Wynwood art district with Art Bastion Gallery.
Jen Wink Hays: Headlong is on view May 5 – May 26, 2023 at Sears-Peyton Gallery in their Chelsea location at 210 Eleventh Avenue. There is an evening reception May 5th from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. Exhibitions are open to the public Tuesday-Friday from 11:00 – 5:00pm and Saturdays from 12:00 - 5:00pm. For more information or to request further press images, please contact the gallery at info@searspeyton.com.