Artist Profile: Stephen Hayes

This is the eighth submission in our ongoing Artist Profile series featuring MAC’s extensive collection of Northwest art. Our interview began with a warm welcome from Stephen Hayes in his spacious studio in Southeast Portland, where an entire wall of windows provides ample natural light.

Born in Washington, D.C., Hayes studied drawing and painting, earning a bachelor’s degree in 1977 and an MFA in 1980 from the University of Wisconsin in Madison. Subsequently, he spent four years exploring Cypress and Jordan. It was during this time that he developed a connection to the land and the innate power and beauty of the landscape. He was aware that it was passé to be interested in plein air painting at the time, but these landscapes demanded his attention. He spent another year in London, which led to his interest in portrait painting.

In 1985, Hayes relocated to Portland because of a family connection. Here he was introduced to the landscape of Sauvie Island by a fellow painter, and much of his work has been inspired by this location. Many of his paintings are studio oils which are based on smaller plein air sketches.

More recently, Hayes started working on a project entitled In The Hour Before, using Google Earth to travel virtually to places where social injustice, political power struggles, and tragedy are prominent. This method has allowed the artist to see the inherent beauty of the land and juxtapose it with the current events from these specific areas. A few examples include the 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris, the 2015 school shooting in San Bernardino, the 2020 fatal beating of George Floyd in Minneapolis, and the current war in the Ukraine. Hayes describes The Hour Before as an odd marriage of beauty and tragedy. Once he concluded this series, he took a sabbatical between October 2020 and October 2021 to focus on recovering and rejuvenating his energy. He received a prestigious Guggenheim Award for this work and is committed to continuing the project.

For over 30 years, Hayes has been combining his intellectual and emotional energy to create compositions that capture the essence of his favorite subjects: groves of trees, water, pathways, and the sky. In 2015, MAC acquired two oils, Path and Pool, that now hang side by side outside the Sports Pub. These are fine examples of Hayes’ favorite location, subject matter, and authenticity.

The artist’s sole medium is oil, because “paint has viscosity and density.” The drying rate is slower than acrylic paint and evolves with time. Because of the time lag, he sometimes returns after several hours and adds another layer to the piece. He often sees something else, and that, in turn, presents new options as he goes forward with a piece. “It is not a linear projection,” he explained. “It’s a dance or conversation between me and my work.”

Hayes has shown his artwork regionally, nationally, and internationally, including exhibitions at the Portland Art Museum, The Art Gym at Marylhurst University, the Northwest Museum of Art and Culture (Spokane, Washington), American Culture Center (Sapporo and Nagoya, Japan), and The Phillips Collection (Washington, D.C.). He has had several commissions for public art projects in the region, and his works can be found in the collections of Oregon State University, New York Public Library, Portland Art Museum,

University of Oregon, and Randall Children’s Hospital at Legacy Emanuel Hospital, as well as numerous private and public collections. In 2013, Hayes was the subject of a 30-year career retrospective at the Hoffman Gallery at Lewis & Clark College, which included a fully illustrated catalogue.

Stephen Hayes has been in Portland for 37 years and has exhibited at the Elizabeth Leach Gallery since his arrival. The professional relationship that he and Leach share is one of mutual trust and admiration. He has an upcoming show in November at the Gallery, located at 417 NW 9th Avenue in the Pearl District.

— Jeanne Neville and Nancy Smith