The Georgia Museum of Art at the University of Georgia will present “Looking Through a Sewn Sky: Rachel B. Hayes,” a commissioned craft-based art installation, in its Jane and Harry Willson Sculpture Garden from August 23, 2025, to July 30, 2027. Hayes’ installations blur the lines between sculpture, installation, painting and craft. Her work accentuates landscapes with dynamic forms and vibrant colors, transforming them into enveloping sensory experiences.
“Looking Through a Sewn Sky” engages the natural and built environment of the Georgia Museum’s sculpture garden and invites museum visitors to move through the dreamlike space it creates. Hayes drew inspiration from the museum’s collection, including Frank Lloyd Wright’s windows, Joan Mitchell’s “Close” and Sam Gilliam’s “Patchwork/Terry,” while selecting colors, compositions and materials.
Hayes developed a passion for textile and fiber arts as an undergraduate student at the Kansas City Art Institute. She frequently utilizes processes such as sewing, dyeing fabrics and weaving, and materials often found in clothing, such as silk, polyester, nylon and tulle. She uses brightly colored fabric to create compositions that lead viewers’ eyes around her installations. Her textile sculptures form canopies and surround viewers in brightly colored lights and shadows that ripple in the wind.
Hayes’ work is heavily influenced by the concepts and processes of abstract painting because she has worked closely with her husband, an abstract painter, for more than 20 years. Her installations have grown larger in scale and increasingly site-specific throughout her career, leading her to explore principles of architectural space. Hayes’ large-scale works exist at the intersection of several forms of artistic reasoning and design processes; her textile creations follow the rhythm of abstract paintings and sculpturally engage with space.
Related events include:
• A talk by the artist, Rachel B. Hayes, on August 23 at 3 p.m.
• A garden party on August 23 at 4:30 p.m. ($15; includes two drink tickets. Register at bit.ly/rachelhayes)
• Family Days on September 20 and October 11 from 10 a.m. to noon
• A Homeschool Day on September 26 from 10 a.m. to noon
Family Day is sponsored by Heyward Allen Cadillac-GMC-Toyota. All programs are free and open to the public unless otherwise indicated.
Authored by:
Nabiha Rahman
