Hayley Tompkins

In her paintings and painted objects, Hayley Tompkins emphasizes the energy found in small things and economical gestures. From sticks and scraps of wood to spoons and mobile phone casings, her choice of support insistently draws attention to the boundary between painting and reality. Organized in suggestive and deceptively informal arrangements, Tompkins’s minimal, lo-fi objects highlight the acts of looking, touching, and experiencing space. In so doing, Tompkins prompts us to slow down and attend to our surroundings in a concentrated way that is decidedly at odds with the pace of contemporary life. Her exhibition at the AAM is her first solo presentation in a North American institution.