Hayley Tompkins, at Andrew Kreps Gallery, NYC

Hayley Tompkins

Andrew Kreps Gallery, New York

October 11 - November 15, 2003

My street's very, very quiet, and no-one brings anyone in here - it's very private.

But there are these motor homes and

20 people in black suits,

standing in the middle of my street, So I pull up.

In my car and I've got my hair pulled back - and he

starts to take pictures. No make-up, no nothing.

So I said, "Fine" I see myself like that every day.

I think I'm very free. On + on.

Once you overcome an obstacle,

You springboard into the future.

Borrow it.

His / her / it's life activity. Conscious life activity.

Find it.

Life is interesting and short

It's not supposed to be easy, and if it is

You're probably just in denial and you're existing here

Like a zombie.

No zombies.

That's what I love about -

-Sue Tompkins

Andrew Kreps Gallery presents an exhibition of new work by Hayley Tompkins. Based in Glasgow, Scotland, Hayley Tompkins has recently participated in exhibitions at Galerie Krinzinger in Vienna, Austria and at The Modern Institute in Glasgow. This is her second solo exhibition at Andrew Kreps Gallery.

The exhibition features Hayley Tompkins' trademark watercolors on paper as well as paintings on wooden board, a new medium for her. Hayley Tompkins sees these paintings on board as an "attempt to retrieve images of other paintings in my mind. Like remembering. The paintings feel aged to me already, like I am making ready-made objects and inserting them into history straight away."

In this exhibition, a number of works are hung on a large cubical structure built in the center of the gallery space. As viewers navigate around the structure, Hayley Tompkins' installation unfolds. The artist sees encountering the structure as "a gestalt, 'unwhole' experience" because only one part of the exhibition is visible at a time. The four walls of the box-structure provide a stage of sorts, where the paintings are installed to express their distinctive qualities. Some of the works contain references to stage or costume design. Hayley Tompkins cites Malevich, Sonia Delaunay and Oskar Schlemmer as influential for their work, as well as for their holistic approaches as artists-cum-stage designers. Other works in the exhibition are hung to emphasize their surreal content.

ANDREW KREPS GALLERY

516 wEST 20th Street, New York City

www.andrewkreps.com