Rachel Hayes was born in Independence, Missouri and lives and works in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Hayes received her BFA in Fiber from the Kansas City Art Institute, and her MFA in Painting from Virginia Commonwealth University. Often using fabric to create large-scale work, she is interested in inserting color and form into both built and natural environments. She is a recipient of the Joan Mitchell Award in Painting and Sculpture, Augustus Saint-Gaudens Memorial Fellowship in Sculpture, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Professional Fellowship in Sculpture, Virginia Commission for the Arts Fellowship in Sculpture, and a Charlotte Street Fund Award. Hayes has attended the Marie Walsh Sharpe Space Program, New York, NY; Sculpture Space Residency, Utica, NY; Art Omi International Artists' Residency, Ghent, NY; Roswell Artist-in-Residence program in Roswell, NM; and the Tulsa Artist Fellowship in Tulsa, OK. She has exhibited her work at institutions including the SculptureCenter in New York City, NY; Fruitlands Museum + deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, Harvard, MA; Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, NY; Nevada Museum of Art, Reno, NV; Taubman Museum of Art, Roanoke, VA; Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, KS; Roswell Museum of Art, Roswell, NM; Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site, Cornish, NH; and at galleries such as Lowell Ryan Projects, Los Angeles, CA; Marinaro, New York, NY; Bravin Lee Programs, New York, NY, and ADA Gallery, Richmond, VA. Hayes has collaborated with the Italian fashion house Missoni, culminating with a solo exhibition during Milan Design Week. Recently, she exhibited site-specific installations with ISTANBUL74 during the 16th Contemporary Istanbul, in Turkey and at NOMAD in Capri, IT. In September 2023, she was invited to exhibit at the ancient Agora of Smyrna for the Turkish Textile Biennial. Her installation “Someday When We Are Dreaming” is currently up in the atrium at the Nevada Museum of Art through 2026. Her work has been covered by The New Yorker, The New York Times, Architectural Digest, Vogue, The Cut, LA Weekly, Los Angeles Times, Harper’s Bazaar, and Artforum among others.
Rachel is married to the artist Eric Sall, and they have two children. After living in Kansas City, MO, Roswell, NM, Richmond, VA, Brooklyn, NY, and Iowa City, IA, they are now based in Tulsa, OK.