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Start from Scratch – Space 204 welcomes Jodi Hays in October 2024

Posted by on Monday, September 9, 2024 in Exhibition, News, Space 204.

Jodi Hays, “The Exception,” 2023, dye, paper, cardboard, aluminum and wood plinth, 48 x 36 x 6 inches, photo by Sam Angel

The Vanderbilt University Department of Art and Space 204 announces the solo exhibition Start from Scratch by Nashville-based artist, Jodi Hays October 17 – November 15, 2024

Hays will present tapestry-like paintings that incorporated materials with a history of resourceful labor and the craft of sewing, quilting, and piecing. Evolving form the collage “aesthetics” of previous works, Hays’ current work has pushed her practice into conversations on the expansion of the field of painting, found materials, and what she calls “border practices” that encompasses all of these. Titles are foundational to her process, where language is pieced and amended, similar to the methods utilized in the reuse and reappropriating the studio work.

Jodi Hays (b. 1976, Arkansas, United States) is a painter who exhibits widely across the United States. Her work has been shown at in solo and two-person presentations at Night Gallery (LA)Susan Inglett Gallery (NY)Devening Projects (IL)Zieher Smith Gallery, Red Arrow Gallery, and more. Group shows include at venues such as Weatherspoon Museum of Art, Wiregrass Museum, the Brooks Museum, Fisk University, The Cooper Union School of Art, and more.

ArtForum International, New York Times,  New American Painting, Two Coats of Paint, Hyperallergic, ArtNews, and New Art Examiner are several publications that have featured her work. The Rauschenberg Foundation, The Foundation for Contemporary Art and Sustainable Arts Foundation are among those who have awarded her grants and Fellowships. Residencies include The Cooper Union School of Art, Stove Works, Oxbow School of Art, Hambidge, and Vermont Studio Center.  Her paintings can be found in many public and corporate collections including the Birmingham Museum of Art, The Arkansas Museum of Fine Art, and The J Crew Group.


Start from Scratch will close with an artist reception on Thursday, November 14, 2024 in Space 204 from 3:00PM to 5:00PM.  The exhibition will remain on view thru November 15, 2024 with regular gallery hours Mondays thru Fridays 10am to 4pm.

All Space 204 exhibitions are free and open to the public.

The works shown are courtesy of the artist and David Lusk Gallery.


Rubberneckers, exhibition poster, May 2007. Curated by Jodi Hays

Start from Scratch also marks a homecoming moment for Jodi Hays. She curated the 2007 exhibition, Rubberneckers, in Space 204 (then called Gallery 204)  featuring artists from across the country “creating meaningful work from the richness that is the everyday.”