StoreGarry Hayes
1961–2010
Garry Hayes began his artistic career with studies at The American Academy of Art, Chicago, finishing with a BFA from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Taking his diploma in hand he headed immediately to the bright lights of New York City. Here, Hayes first tried his hand at painting and quickly moved to sculpture. Frustrated by the prohibitive cost and storage challenges of both techniques, he decided to shift scale and started experimenting with collage. Soon, Hayes found he had thousands of images. Box after box of scraps and clippings quickly accumulated. Suddenly, Hayes found himself with too many choices!
The death of a friend left him with a huge collection of art books. Thumbing through the pages, he saw image after image of beautiful expression and form. Picking up a pair of scissors, Hayes started cutting. A rip here, a snip there, a well-placed fold and before he was done, Hayes had discovered his millieu. Seeking out artbooks, and auction and gallery catalogues for their graphic possibilities, each book presented him a treasure trove of random discovery. In his hands, they were no longer books, but a palette Hayes could cut, fold and manipulate into a blend between collage, sculpture and visual poetry. These are not appropriations but re-creations. Hayes has manipulated them into a new form, his own 3-D, popup cubist sculpture.
