March 16, 2021 | St. Lucie Cultural Alliance | Member Spotlight – John Hayes
Contributed by John Hayes
Member Spotlight – John Hayes
John Hayes (pictured), has been organizing a museum-quality exhibition of outdoor sculpture in Florida since 1990 and in the United States since 1980. He is particularly interested in following the aspirations of his late father, the American Modern Master David Hayes, by mounting public art exhibitions in neighborhoods where residents may enjoy the artwork on their way to work, school, play, or shopping.
Hayes, in collaboration with family members and museum curators, has conceived sculpture exhibitions at most of Florida’s best-regarded museum, including the Boca Raton Museum of Art, the Lowe Art Museum in Miami, Ocala’s Appleton Museum, the von Liebig Art Center in Naples, the Vero Beach Art Museum, Stuart’s Lyric Theater, Jacksonville’s Cummer Museum, the Frost Art Museum and the former Gulf Coast Art Center in Bellair.
Additionally, he has mounted logistically complex municipal displays of Florida public art for his late father and other nationally-recognized sculptors, including a 40-piece show in Fort Pierce, Florida, an installation on the steps of Orlando’s City Hall, a year-long outdoor display in Winter Park, a current 24-piece exhibition in every one of Gainesville’s public parks, an 8-piece show now up in Naples’ Baker and Cambier parks, a downtown show in West Palm Beach’s Northwoods neighborhood, plus, Saint Lucie County’s recent critically acclaimed WOW-I and WOW-II invitationals. Both WOW exhibitions were curated by Hayes, who oversaw all aspects of the exhibits in the county’s three cities, including statewide travel for personal studio visits. Other Florida projects include on-site project management and work with art advisory selection boards for permanent installations in Florida cities and commercial art-in-public places installations.
John Hayes has been mounting public art exhibitions for the past four decades in venues across America. Thanks to his insights and experiences, he is an active participant in numerous regional art in public places boards, committees, and initiatives. He has also been asked to advise the Board of the Florida Association of Public Art Professionals. He also serves on panels, symposia, and conferences at the national level.
His national curatorial efforts include accredited museum exhibitions in most of America’s fifty states, with a concentration in the northeastern, southeastern, and southwestern US. His shows range from Connecticut to Spokane, Boston to Baton Rouge, Mobile to Texas, and other areas in between. Hayes travels some 50,000 miles a year arranging exhibitions.
The year 2020 marked Florida’s 40th exhibition of David Hayes sculpture. John Hayes is currently planning a traveling outdoor exhibit on Florida’s Treasure Coast for 2022-2023.
Hayes is a resident of Fort Pierce, Florida, where he actively volunteers with local arts and community development advisory committees at the board membership level. He also helps manage his late father’s foundation and open-air art museum in Connecticut.
To learn more about the St. Lucie Cultural Alliance and the benefits of memberships, please visit ArtStLucie.org, email: info@artstlucie.org, or call 772-462-2783.