| Paula Hayes is inspired by the natural world. She typically incorporates plants and other living elements into her work—something she has referred to as "ikebana with domestic items," referencing the term for Japanese flower arrangement. She has made terrariums, planters, and birdhouses, all of which form organic, living sculptures and ecological environments. Her signature planters are biomorphically shaped containers molded from silicone or polyurethane that hold plants and trees. Like much art that deals with issues of the human and natural environment, Hayes reminds the viewer that art need not be an object, but rather may require the viewer"s interaction and even care. Hayes strives to preserve and nurture her environments, offering a hopeful outlook for the future of the larger world. For Everyday Eden, she sites two silicone containers in the lobby of One MetroTech and fills them with tropical, colorful plants. The result is a magical combination of the abstract and natural forms.
Born in Concord, Massachusetts, Paula Hayes received a BS from Skidmore College and an MFA in sculpture from Parsons School of Design. She has had solo exhibitions at Salon 94, New York (2004); Galerie fur Landeschaftkunst, Hamburg, Germany (1998); Eigen + Art, Berlin, Germany (1995); and Fawbush Gallery, New York (1994).
Ongoing at MetroTech: Tony Matelli's Stray Dog (1998), James Angus's Basketball Dropped from 35,000 feet at Moment of Impact (1999), and Tom Otterness's Alligator (1996) and
Visionary (1997), all commissioned by Public Art Fund, continue to be exhibited within the MetroTech Commons.
MetroTech Center is located in Downtown Brooklyn between Jay Street and Flatbush Avenue at Myrtle Avenue. Viewing hours are dawn to dusk daily for outdoor works, Monday through
Friday 8am to 6pm for Jedediah Caesar's and Paula Hayes's installations in the lobby of One MetroTech Center. Subway: A, C, F to Jay Street/Borough Hall, exit at Myrtle Promenade; R to Lawrence Street; Q to Dekalb Avenue. This exhibition is free.
Public Art Fund is New York's leading presenter of artists' projects, new commissions, installations and exhibitions in public spaces. For over 30 years, the Public Art Fund has been committed to working with emerging and established artists to produce innovative exhibitions of contemporary art throughout New York City. By bringing artworks outside the traditional context of museums and galleries, the Public Art Fund provides a unique platform for an unparalleled public encounter with the art of our time.
Recent critically acclaimed exhibitions and presentations include Anish Kapoor's Sky Mirror at Rockefeller Center; Sarah Sze's Corner Plot and Damien Ortega's Obelisco Transportable at Doris C. Freedman Plaza; Sarah Morris's Robert Towne at Lever House; and Alexander Calder in New York at City Hall Park.
Since 1993, Public Art Fund's program at MetroTech has exhibited new commissions and recent works by more than fifty emerging and established artists including Vito Acconci, Liz Craft, Jacob Dyrenforth, Roman de Salvo, Rachel Foullon, Amy Gartrell, Luis Gispert, Corin Hewitt, Matthew Day Jackson, Matt Johnson, Peter Kreider, Tony Matelli, Ryan McGuinness, Dave McKenzie, Franco Mondini-Ruiz, Mamiko Otsubo, Tom Otterness, Roxy Paine, Ester Partegàs, Peter Rostovsky, Valeska Soares, Do-Ho Suh, Marc Swanson and Ursula von Rydingsvard.
Everyday Eden at MetroTech Center is part of an ongoing program organized by the Public Art Fund and sponsored by MetroTech Commons Associates, an organization that consists of MetroTech companies Bear Stearns & Company, Forest City Ratner Companies, JPMorganChase, National Grid, WellChoice and Polytechnic University. Special thanks to Forest City Ratner Companies and First New York Partners.
Robert Fischer's As Above, So Below is a project of the Public Art Fund program In the Public Realm, which is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts; the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency; and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.
Public Art Fund is a non-profit arts organization supported by generous contributions from individuals, foundations, and corporations, and with public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts; New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency; and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.
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