Maya Hayuk
Region: Northeast
City / State: Brooklyn, NY
These large-scale paintings are not sketched out in advance;
they are improvised reactions to and collaborations with the
environments they occupy. They are built up in layers of loose,
wet, deliberate, rapid, rigid, and blown-out gestures. While this
process could go on forever, time and weather usually dictate
the moment of completion. I rely on the imperfection of my arm’s
reach and trust in my own physicality, as well as in the capability
of whatever cherry-picker or scaffold I am standing on. Even
when I have the luxury of working with an assistant, the paint is
applied almost entirely by me—this is important to me. My work
is a physical endurance performance and a kind of meditation.
These paintings live in public spaces that become personal for
those who make selfies with them; they do not last forever, and
they make me really, really happy.
![](https://nap-master.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/styles/entry_thumb/public/hayuk_parkingGarageA.2.jpg?9KuDBRg54vhI8aObeaoQKaiN76DP9Z0j&itok=Ny1bHNQ6)
![](https://nap-master.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/styles/entry_thumb/public/hayuk_Hammer.1B.2.jpg?Gb5Nqwz1eExlfddfFfbZMAEe5SYPDjV4&itok=BdkgyphP)
![](https://nap-master.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/styles/bio_cover_img/public/hayuk_Portrait.1.2.jpg?10oDeZ.t8NiKJAslHdoikhB_9ufwru6l&itok=z2O85MJM)