JEFFERSON HAYMAN: THE ROMANTIC EYE

Inevitable Objects is pleased to present a group of new artworks by Jefferson Hayman.  This exhibition spans the breadth of the artist’s current works, with examples of his portraits, curiosities, and intimate vistas, and showcases the refined sensibility that has been the hallmark of Hayman’s decades-long career. 

Like many great artists before him, the impulse that animates Hayman seems to flow from a wellspring of longing.  Unable to find a woman he could truly love, Pygmalion sculpted a partner in ivory of such perfection that he could not be parted from her.  After completing the Mona Lisa, Da Vinci could not bring himself to deliver it to his patron, but rather kept it in his own home for the rest of his life, and upon his passing bequeathed it to his most beloved companion.  Similarly, each artwork emerging from Hayman’s studio feels like he formed it from one of his own ribs.

Hayman creates a world populated by apparitions that seem to both haunt and drive him.  He returns to fantastic visions of clouds, biplanes, zeppelins, faraway vistas, otherworldly portraits, moonlit skies, elegant lovers, delicate fruits, peculiar tools, and brooding bones. 

It would be a misunderstanding to think of Hayman as primarily a photographer, though he is undoubtedly a master of the medium.  He is more accurately understood as a creator of precious objects, ulitizing skills such as woodworking, framing, laser engraving, and the restoration of vintage articles, guided by his uncanny eye for color, surface, texture, harmony and juxtaposition.

Hayman’s work is informed by his deep knowledge of the history of art, with references found throughout his work to Old Master still life paintings, American Tonalism, early twentieth century photography, Surrealism, and early abstract painting.  He pairs these influences with a profound affection for vintage and handmade objects, to alchemical effect.  

Jefferson Hayman's work is found in numerous private and public collections, notably the Museum of Modern Art Library, The Boston Athenaeum, The New York Public Library, the collection of Sir Elton John, and the collection of Robert De Niro, and many others. He is a recipient of the prestigious Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant. He lives and works in Nyack, New York.