Hayley Barker Stagg St Studio

Last October, against the backdrop of a global pandemic, Hayley Barker launched her first solo-exhibition at SHRINE, The Grass is Blue. The show’s title referenced her favorite Dolly Parton song and also the upside down feeling of life during this time. This moment also coincided with the start of a three-month trip to NYC for Barker, during which she rented a temporary studio space in East Williamsburg located on Stagg St. Hayley quickly began work on a new series of paintings that continued her exploration of the recurring motifs and themes from her show: candid reflections of life during Covid-19, depictions of mysterious portals appearing in the artist’s Los Angeles front yard, and feminist-edged landscapes and floral works that allude to her home-state, Oregon, as well as the daily encounters and surroundings she experienced while living in Brooklyn. Many of Barker’s new canvases also reflect a slight transition in style that veers more closely towards realism, while still emanating a surreal and magical aura full of hope and light.

To commemorate this new group of paintings and Hayley Barker’s sojourn to New York, we are excited to announce Stagg St Studio, a digital exhibition to permanently document and archive this time and place, and the works that were born out of it.

All photos: Nicholas Knight, 2021