KATHLEEN HAYES - STATEMENT

The repetition and monotony of fields mesmerizes me. Variations of light and currents of air reflect across the surface, and slowly a field comes to life. I begin to see variations of hue and value where before I saw only a vast sameness. The field seems no longer a part of a larger landscape, but a universe of it’s own: diverse, thriving, vibrant. Interpreting these systems of texture, form, color and energy, I create three-dimensional fields which take on lives of their own.
I avoid familiar pictorial devices of landscape pictures, such as horizon line, two-dimensional illusion of space and subject/ground relationships. Rather, fields which are found underfoot in nature are brought up onto the wall in three-dimensional relief; and the "field"—usually the background to a featured subject in a picture—becomes the object. These shifts of context coax the viewer out of ordinary patterns of seeing. From a distance, these works are perceived primarily as heavily textured surfaces. Upon closer examination, the interior depth and interacting systems become more apparent. A mosaic-like base pulls the viewer into the interior space of the work. Each work becomes a universe of its own.