Wikipedia

Jodi Hays

Jodi Hays (born 1976, Hot Springs, Arkansas)[1] is an American collage painter. Her work often engages humble materials and art-historical knowledge.[2][3][4][5] She works within the tradition of abstraction, incorporating contrasting colors, stripes, grids, and geometric forms suggestive of urban landscapes and architecture.[6]

Jodi Hays
Born1976 (age 49–50)
Hot Springs, Arkansas
CitizenshipAmerican
OccupationPainter
Websitejodihays.com

Background

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Early life and education

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Hays was born in Hot Springs, Arkansas in 1976. She earned a BFA from The University of Tennessee and an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts.[7]

Career

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Hays served as gallery director at Tennessee State University, where she authored projects with Pope.L and Shaun Leonardo. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Hays started using used cardboard as an artistic material while in social isolation.[8][9][10] She presented The Find, a solo exhibition of mixed-media works, at Night Gallery in Los Angeles in 2022. The exhibition featured layered abstract compositions incorporating reclaimed cardboard, textiles, paper, dye, and paint. Several works in the exhibition including Canaan and Darkest Hour, incorporated dyed and assembled cardboard, while others combined textiles, paper collage, and painted surfaces.[6]

Hays has received grants from the Rauschenberg Foundation, the Foundation for Contemporary Arts, the Sustainable Arts Foundation, the Tennessee Arts Commission, and the Elizabeth Firestone Graham Foundation, among others.[11][7]

She works within the tradition of abstraction, incorporating contrasting colors, stripes, grids, and geometric forms suggestive of urban landscapes and architecture. Her layered compositions explore themes of place and the built environment, examining how constructed spaces influence both individual and collective experience.[12]

Exhibitions

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Hays has exhibited across the United States in solo, two-person, and group exhibitions at galleries and museums.[4]

Selected solo exhibitions

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  • Befores and Afters, David Lusk Gallery, Tennessee (2025)[11]
  • To Harden and Heal, Johnson Lowe Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia (2025)[13]
  • Start from Scratch, Vanderbilt University, Tennessee (2024)[1]
  • The Find, Night Gallery, Los Angeles, California (2022)[6]
  • Jodi Hays: Past Present, ZieherSmith, New York (2021)[14]
  • The Browsing Room, Tennessee (2020)[15]
  • Tend, Red Arrow Gallery, Tennessee (2019)[16]
  • Keeper, Red Arrow Gallery, Tennessee (2017)[17]

Selected two-person exhibitions

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  • The Burden of Wait, (with Michi Meko), Susan Inglett Gallery, New York (2023)[18]
  • Everso (with Katrin Schnabl), Devening Projects, Chicago, Illinois (2023)[19]

Selected group exhibitions

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Museum and public collections

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References

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  1. 1 2 Phillips, Jerry. "Start from Scratch – Space 204 welcomes Jodi Hays in October 2024". Vanderbilt University. Retrieved 2026-05-24.
  2. 1 2 3 "Native Magazine". native.is. Retrieved 2026-05-23.
  3. ↑ "Greetings from Nashville: A conversation with Jodi Hays at Duke Hall Gallery of Fine Art". www.jmu.edu. Retrieved 2026-05-23.
  4. 1 2 "Jodi Hays: The Magic of Reclaimed Materials". Visionary Art Collective. Retrieved 2026-05-23.
  5. ↑ "Artists Quarantine With Their Art Collections". Hyperallergic. 2020-11-07. Retrieved 2026-05-23.
  6. 1 2 3 "Jodi Hays – The Find at Night Gallery in LA – Art Spiel". 2022-07-18. Retrieved 2026-05-23.
  7. 1 2 "Jodi Hays is a painter based in Nashville". The Hopper Prize. Retrieved 2026-05-23.
  8. ↑ Hunter, Laura Hutson (2022-06-23). "Off-Site: Jodi Hays in Los Angeles". Nashville Scene. Retrieved 2026-05-23.
  9. ↑ Daston, Char (2024-07-25). "Nashvillians can now borrow art from seven local libraries". WPLN News. Retrieved 2026-05-23.
  10. ↑ Clough, Christopher. "New exhibit at James May Gallery opens with Jan. 5 reception". Green Bay Press-Gazette. Retrieved 2026-05-23.
  11. 1 2 "Jodi Hays: Befores and Afters - Exhibitions | LOCATE Arts". locatearts.org. Retrieved 2026-05-23.
  12. ↑ Baker, Melinda. "Nashville painter Jodi Hays explores the structures and subtext of community". The Tennessean. Retrieved 2026-05-23.
  13. ↑ "To Harden and Heal | 9 May - 28 June 2025". Johnson Lowe Gallery. Retrieved 2026-05-23.
  14. ↑ "Jodi Hays: Past Present solo exhibition". ZIEHERSMITH. Retrieved 2026-05-23.
  15. ↑ Weiner, Emily (2020-01-30). "Jodi Hays". Artforum. Retrieved 2026-05-31.
  16. ↑ "Jodi Hays: TEND - Exhibitions | LOCATE Arts". locatearts.org. Retrieved 2026-05-31.
  17. ↑ "Jodi Hays | KEEPER". Artsy. Retrieved 2026-05-31.
  18. ↑ "THE BURDEN OF WAIT: PAINTINGS FROM THE NEW AMERICAN SOUTH | 8 December 2022–28 January 2023 - Overview". Susan Inglett Gallery. Retrieved 2026-05-23.
  19. ↑ "Jodi Hays + Katrin Schnabl | Everso | April 2 – May 13, 2023 – Devening Projects". Retrieved 2026-05-23.
  20. ↑ "In Her Place: Nashville Artists in the Twenty-First Century". Frist Art Museum. Retrieved 2026-05-23.
  21. ↑ Mothes, Kate (2025-12-22). "Artists Embrace an Affordable and Ubiquitous Material in 'Cardboard: Infinite Possibilities'". Colossal. Retrieved 2026-05-23.
  22. ↑ "Painting Deconstructed". Ortega y Gasset Projects. Retrieved 2026-05-23.
  23. ↑ "Points South Live featuring Margo Price and Jodi Hays in conversation with Alice Randall". Oxford American. Retrieved 2026-05-23.
  24. ↑ "B18: Wiregrass Biennial - Wiregrass Museum of Art". Wiregrass Museum of Art. Archived from the original on 2025-08-10. Retrieved 2026-05-23.
  25. ↑ "Jodi Hays, American, born Hot Springs, Arkansas 1976, lives and works in Nashville, Tennessee". Birmingham Museum of Art. Retrieved 2026-05-23.
  26. ↑ "Jodi Hays - The Find - Exhibitions - Night Gallery". www.nightgallery.ca. Retrieved 2026-05-23.
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