A painting requires nothing more than a painter. Everything else is malleable. Once a painter has been established, that which they create are paintings no matter the form. Michael Henry Hayden is – as he has been throughout his long career – a painter. But in the sculptural works in his new show at Moskowitz Bayse, “Waiting for the Canyon’s Echo,” Hayden pushes the boundaries of painting and explores new, mixed media compositions.

The works throughout the show are generally inspired by natural scenes and imagery: broad leaves, granite mountain ranges, tree bark, and more. In some paintings, these sculptural natural elements take center stage, such as in Leaflet (Anthurium) (2021), where an aquaresin leaf acts as the canvas for green and white acrylic. In others, a traditional linen canvas acts as the stage where natural elements find their footing.

The most striking example of this canvas-sculptural mixed painting is Plein Air (2019). In this work, a canvas painted with a soft sunset gradient is flanked on both sides by aquaresin granite slabs. Hayden mixed the aquaresin and Sierra mountain granite dust to create a highly realistic analog. Even upon close examination, it’s almost impossible to tell the difference.

“Waiting for the Canyon’s Echo” questions not only what qualifies as painting, but what qualifies as natural. The leaves, the rocks, the bark; these all appear as if they were plucked straight from a botanical garden, and yet are all fabrications. In his role as painter, Hayden strives not only to create art, but to create nature – or rather, to recreate it.

But in this effort, there is a conflict. Of course, no matter how realistic the recreation is, it isn’t strictly speaking natural. It did not arise by natural means, but by the careful, calculating effort of a human being. Hayden himself explores this tension himself with works like Greenhouse (2020), in which the leaf motifs are bound and locked behind wrought iron gates. Here, the difference between manmade and naturally occurring are placed in direct conflict, and we the viewer are left to interrogate the uneasy balance, and whether there truly is any difference.

Moskowitz Bayse
743 N. La Brea Avenue
Los Angeles, CA  90038
Appointment Only