Nancy Haynes (born 1947) is an American contemporary painter renowned for her abstract works that explore the nuances of light, color, and perception. Born in Waterbury, Connecticut, she moved to New York City in 1967, where she has been an active figure in the art community. Haynes divides her time between Brooklyn, New York, and the Huerfano Valley in Colorado.

Artistic Style and Influences

Haynes's paintings are characterized by their minimalist approach, focusing on subtle gradations of color and the interplay of light and shadow. Her work often delves into themes of visual perception and the ephemeral nature of experience. She is influenced by artists such as

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, and

Ad Reinhardt Adolph Friedrich Reinhardt (December 24, 1913 – August 30, 1967) was an American abstract painter and art theorist active in New York City for more than three decades. As a theorist he wrote and lectured extensively on art and was a ...

. Haynes developed a distinct abstract style focused on the exploration of light as both a conceptual and material force. Her work delves into the subtle interplay between light and darkness, presence and absence, often using minimalist compositions to challenge perception and explore the metaphysical qualities of light in space. In some of her paintings, the canvases “evolve from a darker shade of a given pigment to a lighter one, creating a horizontal movement that pulls the eye toward an unseen source of light.” Haynes' practice has evolved through painting, drawing, and sculpture, emphasizing the role of light in shaping form and abstraction. Literature plays a central role in Haynes's oeuvre, informing the conceptual depth and metaphysical exploration in her work. Haynes has created series of paintings inspired by poets, novelists and essayists including literary figures such as

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and others. Her paintings “from the library” series, are made with dimensions that resemble the size of an open book. This literary connection is also evident in her series of monotypes inspired by Samuel Beckett's work. Haynes continues to actively engage with the art world. She remains a significant figure in contemporary abstract painting, with a career spanning several decades marked by continuous evolution and exploration of visual perception.

Exhibitions

Haynes began exhibiting her work in the late 1970s and has since held numerous solo exhibitions. Selected solo exhibitions are below: * ''Compressing Light'', Galerie Thomas Schulte, Berlin, Germany, 2025 * ''A madeleine dipped in ink'', Galerie Hubert Winter, Vienna, Austria, 2022 * ''Paintings: to the poets'', Galerie Hubert Winter, Vienna, Austria, 2017 * ''Nancy Haynes: this painting oil on linen'', Regina Rex, New York, 2017 * ''Nancy Haynes: anomalies and non sequiturs'', Regina Rex, New York, 2015 * ''Nancy Haynes: Recent Paintings'', George Lawson Gallery, Los Angeles, 2012 * ''Selected Small Paintings'', George Lawson Gallery, San Francisco, 2020 * ''Dissolution'', Elizabeth Harris Gallery, New York, 2009 * ''Nancy Haynes'', Galerie Hubert Winter, Vienna, Austria, 2006 * ''Nancy Haynes'', Galerie Hubert Winter, Vienna, Austria, 2002 * ''Between Two Appearances'', Stark Gallery, New York, 2000 * ''Nancy Haynes'', Galerie Hubert Winter, Vienna, Austria, 1998

Teaching and Lectures

In addition to her painting career, Haynes has contributed to the academic field through teaching and lectures. She served as a visiting lecturer at Princeton University in 2000 and lectured at The Carpenter Center at Harvard University in 1992. From 1986 to 1989, she was an adjunct lecturer at Hunter College in New York.

Awards

Haynes has been awarded by the

Pollock-Krasner Foundation The Pollock-Krasner Foundation was established in 1985 for the purpose of providing funding to visual artists internationally to further their artistic practices. It was established at the bequest of Lee Krasner, who was an American abstract expr ...

in 1995,

The National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

in 1987 and again in 1990, and the

New York Foundation for the Arts The New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) is an independent 501(c)(3) charity, funded through government, foundation, corporate, and individual support, established in 1971. It is part of a network of national not-for-profit arts organizations ...

in 1987.

Public collections

Her work is included in major American and European museums, including: *The

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

in New York *The

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

in New York *The

Whitney Museum of American Art The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is a Modern art, modern and Contemporary art, contemporary American art museum located in the Meatpacking District, Manhattan, Meatpacking District and West Village neighbor ...

in New York *The

Brooklyn Museum The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 500,000 objects. Located near the Prospect Heig ...

in Brooklyn, New York *The

Hood Museum of Art The Hood Museum of Art is an art museum owned and operated by Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. The first reference to the development of an art collection at Dartmouth was in 1772, making the collection among the oldest and largest, a ...

in Dartmouth, NH *The

Addison Gallery of American Art Addison may refer to: Places Canada * Addison, Ontario, a community United States * Addison, Alabama, a town * Addison, Illinois, a village * Addison, Kentucky, an unincorporated community * Addison, Maine, a town * Addison, Michigan, a vil ...

at the

Phillips Academy Phillips Academy (also known as PA, Phillips Academy Andover, or simply Andover) is a Private school, private, Mixed-sex education, co-educational college-preparatory school for Boarding school, boarding and Day school, day students located in ...

in Andover, MA *The

Delaware Art Museum The Delaware Art Museum is an art museum located on the Kentmere Parkway in Wilmington, Delaware, which holds a collection of more than 12,000 objects. The museum was founded in 1912 as the Wilmington Society of the Fine Arts in honor of the arti ...

in Wilmington, Delaware *The

Bonnefantenmuseum The Bonnefanten Museum is a museum of historic, modern and contemporary art in Maastricht, Netherlands. History The museum was founded in 1884 as the historical and archaeological museum for the Dutch province of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg. ...

in Maastricht, Netherlands *The

Kunstmuseum Den Haag The Kunstmuseum Den Haag is an art museum in The Hague in the Netherlands, founded in 1866 as the Museum voor Moderne Kunst. Later, until 1998, it was known as Haags Gemeentemuseum, and until the end of September 2019 as Gemeentemuseum Den Haag. I ...

at The Hague, Netherlands *The

National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art is an art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of charge, the museum was privately established in ...

in Washington, D.C. *The Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, TX *The

Ackland Art Museum The Ackland Art Museum is a museum and academic unit of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It was founded through the bequest of William Hayes Ackland (1855–1940) to The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It is locat ...

in Chapel Hill, NC *The

Chrysler Museum of Art The Chrysler Museum of Art is an art museum on the border between downtown and the Ghent district of Norfolk, Virginia. The museum was founded in 1933 as the Norfolk Museum of Arts and Sciences. In 1971, automotive heir, Walter P. Chrysler Jr ...

in Norfolk, VA *The

Rose Art Museum The Rose Art Museum, founded in 1961, is a part of Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, US. Named after benefactors Edward and Bertha Rose, it offers temporary exhibitions, and it displays and houses works of art from its permanent co ...

at Brandeis University in Waltham, MA *The

Harvard Art Museums The Harvard Art Museums are part of Harvard University and comprise three museums: the Fogg Museum (established in 1895), the Busch-Reisinger Museum (established in 1903), and the Arthur M. Sackler Museum (established in 1985), and four research ...

at Harvard University in Cambridge, MA *The

Davis Museum at Wellesley College The Davis Museum is an art museum located on the Wellesley College campus in Wellesley, Massachusetts. The college art collection was first displayed in the Farnsworth Art Building, founded in 1889. The museum in its present form opened in 1993 ...

in Wellesley, MA *The

UCLA Hammer Museum The Hammer Museum, which is affiliated with the University of California, Los Angeles, is an art museum and cultural center known for its artist-centric and progressive array of exhibitions and public programs. Founded in 1990 by the entrepreneur- ...

in Los Angeles, CA

External links

Rachel Nackman on Nancy HaynesElizabeth Donato on Nancy HaynesOverview of Nancy Haynes Work

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haynes, Nancy Artists from Brooklyn 1947 births Artists from Waterbury, Connecticut Living people American women artists People from Red Hook, Brooklyn 21st-century American women

Artistic Style and Influences

Exhibitions

Teaching and Lectures

Awards

Public collections

Further reading

External links

References