ARTIST STATEMENT

My art is an invitation to confront uncomfortable truths, to engage deeply with the complexities of our reality and to envision a more just and equitable world. Each painting serves as a historical and symbolic testament to our era. The intention of these narratives is to create a record of our time and a space for collective contemplation, resistance, reconciliation and transformation.

My creative process is deeply informed by activism, journalistic research, and image sourcing, as I seek to capture the emotional essence of the topics at hand. These details, symbols, and psycho-visual cues infuse my work with layers of meaning that purposefully immerse the viewer in a world that mirrors their own, compelling them to recognize their role in shaping it and asking them to engage deeply with the complexities of our shared reality that is represented in these contemporary allegories..

At the heart of my artistic philosophy lies a resolute determination to confront the urgent crises of our time with immediacy and depth. Through the narratives in my paintings, I aim to illuminate the pressing need for collective action and advocate for an end to the prison and military-industrial complex, and for racial, economic, and environmental justice. When seen at a distance, the paintings are captivating with vibrant colors and intricate details that exude an aura of optimism and joy. However, upon closer inspection, the veil is lifted to reveal poignant narratives depicting the plight of the oppressed around the world and the intersectionality of their oppressors.

In expansive and intertwining landscapes and intimate portraiture, the paintings portray the past, present, and potential future simultaneously, creating a space where one might not feel so alone in confronting the contradictions of democracy, privilege, and power in the United States and the world that is laid bare all around us, While we fight to dream of a more just world, with no clear path forward.

BIO / C.V.

Haley Hughes is a self-taught artist born in Paradise, California, in 1984, and has lived and worked in Brooklyn since 2002 and currently has studios both in Brooklyn, NY and in Chico, CA. Her recent paintings were featured in exhibitions "The Every Woman Biennial" at La MaMa Gallery NYC and "American Dream" at the Raynham Hall Museum, Oyster Bay, NY, in 2024. Other recent notable exhibitions include "After the Fall Comes Love or The Shadow Society," a alumni survey of her work that she curated, including the work of 25 artists, musicians, and performers at the Bushel Collective in Delhi, NY, in 2022/2023, "DownTown Train" at PS122, NYC, in 2021, a group exhibition that also included the works of Gordon Matta-Clark, Penny Arcade, and Boris Lurie, the solo show entitled "This is Your Country" at the SPRING/BREAK ART Show in 2020, and the show "MAD" at Assembly Room, NYC,2019, where her work was shown alongside Kiki Smith, Ana Mendieta and Adama Delphine Fawundu. Hughes’ work has been reviewed and published in the print edition of Art Forum by Sasha Frere-Jones, The Village Voice by R.C. Baker, and published in The Nation Magazine, W Mag, Title Mag, Wallpaper, and Huffington Post. In addition, her work has been exhibited at Haverford College, Haverford, PA, Watermill Center, Watermill, NY, Columbia College, Columbia, MO, Royal Society of American Art, Brooklyn, NY, Field Projects, NY, NY, Elizabeth Art Foundation Project Space, New York, NY, Gowanus Studio Space, The SunView Luncheonette, Assembly Room, New York, NY, Scope Art Show Miami Beach, Bushel Collective, Delhi, NY, Le Petit Versailles, New York, NY, Every Woman Biennial, La MaMa Gallery, New York, NY, Rhode Island Arts League, Providence, RI, MOMA PS1 BookFair, Queens, NY. Special Commissions, acquisitions, and residencies include the Debt Collective, Public Bank, The Allen Art Museum, Wellesley College, Watermill Center, I-Park, and OverPass Projects Print Residency, with which she has created four labor-intensive and unique print editions and has self-published two books.