Tulsa Arts Scene: Rachel Hayes creates Gathering Place installation

Former Tulsa Artist Fellow Rachel Hayes’ latest work is a large-scale, immersive textile installation that is now on display at Gathering Place, 2650 John Williams Way, through Sept. 30.

Hayes’ “A Color Story” is made up of seven, multicolored fabric flags installed in the area surrounding the PSO Reading Tree. The mosaic-style flags vary in size and are designed to catch the sun and blow in the breeze. Hayes installed the vibrant display organically among the park’s trees.

What are the first things summer intern Lydia Fletcher (from Arkansas) notices about Tulsa and the state of Oklahoma? Fletcher and James Watts discuss this and upcoming Scene content.

“Color was installed throughout the PSO Reading Tree to highlight various points in the area, keeping the eyes searching while walking through the trees,” Hayes said in a statement. “From a distance, the bold colors may grab someone’s attention to come closer. The artwork may gently sway in the wind or catch light dappling through the trees.”

Former Tulsa Artist Fellow Rachel Hayes’ latest work is a large-scale, immersive textile installation that is now on display at Gathering Place. Photo Credit: Mike Simons, Tulsa World

Rachel Hayes’ “A Color Story” is installed near the PSO Reading Tree in the Gathering Place. Photo Credit: Annette Moradel

The artwork invites park guests to walk among the colorful fabrics to notice the sights and sounds of the installation as it is immersed in the natural elements of the park.

“Gathering Place serves as a space for creativity and imagination to run wild,” said Julio Badin, executive director of Gathering Place. “We are thrilled to bring vibrant and immersive artwork into the park for visitors to enjoy. Gathering Place is honored to display the work of Tulsa-based artist Rachel Hayes, and hope that her work inspires others to get creative in the park.”

Hayes came to Tulsa when her husband, artist Eric Sall, was one of the inaugural artists selected for the Tulsa Artist Fellowship; Hayes applied herself the next year and was accepted. She has been based in Tulsa ever since, even though her work is in demand around the country.

Locally, her colorful fabric installations have been displayed at the Philbrook Museum of Art and 108 Contemporary, as well as the Sculpture Center in New York City; Fruitlands Museum + deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum in Harvard, Massachusetts; the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City, Kansas; the Roswell (New Mexico) Museum of Art; and the Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site in Cornish, New Hampshire.

Her work has been featured in Architectural Digest, Vogue, New Yorker Magazine, Harper’s Bazaar, Interior Design, the Los Angeles Times and other publications.

To learn more about the artist, visit rachelbhayes.com.