Art Heals: After a Sexual Assault, an Artist Paints Women Who Can’t Be Knocked Down It took me years to find the language to tell this story. by Clarity Haynes February 4, 2021 We never laughed about the attack. I wanted to laugh, but everyone was so serious. As soon as I told them he used the word “rape” and pulled down my pants, they were convinced it wasn’t a mugging but an attempted rape. It might sound crazy…Read More
Clarity Haynes DENNY DIMIN GALLERY A pair of hairy, pendulous tits and a huge belly marred by stretch marks, drooping skin, fresh bruises, and old wounds: This is a general yet reasonably accurate description of an obese, middle-aged physique—one that belongs to me, a gay man.I see myself reflected in the luminous portraits of nonbinary, trans, and female torsos—fat, scarred, imperfect—by Clarity Haynes. But in her pictures, I don’t find shame or self-loathing—feelings I imagine those with nonnormative bodies, like…Read More
Clarity Haynes The eyes may be the windows to the soul, but torsos are even more telling in this mid-career New York artist’s new group of intimate, numinous paintings. In this show, titled “Altar-ed Bodies,” Haynes explores the possibilities of feminist figuration in cropped compositions whose subjects are frankly depicted, in frontal poses, with their scars, stretch marks, and sagging flesh. Their tattoos and jewelry assume a talismanic significance, which continues in a companion series—its genre might be called “queer…Read More
An Artist’s Altars to Unsung Women Rendered in a rainbow of vibrant colors, Clarity Haynes’s portrayals of queer, heavy, and disabled bodies reimagines the white box as a communal space that allows for the possibility of healing. – Christen Clifford Installation view, Clarity Haynes: Altar-ed Bodies at Denny Dimin Gallery, New York. Foreground: Clarity Haynes, “Genesis” (2019), oil on linen, 58 x 52 in. Background: Clarity Haynes, “Grace” (2019), oil on linen, 62 x 62 inches (all images courtesy of Denny…Read More
What to See Right Now in New York Art Galleries Nicky Nodjoumi’s dreamy serial paintings; Albert Oehlen’s “mirror paintings”; Clarity Haynes portraits of breasts; Kim Tschang-Yeul’s abstract brand of Pop Art … Clarity Haynes Through Jan. 25. Denny Dimin Gallery, 39 Lispenard Street, Manhattan; 212-226-6537, dennygallery.com. Clarity Haynes’s “Genesis” (2019) in the show “Altar-ed Bodies.”Credit…Clarity Haynes, New Discretions and Denny Dimin Gallery Since the late 1990s, Clarity Haynes has been painting portraits of people’s breasts. They aren’t descended from the sexy and sexist classical…Read More
CLARITY HAYNES ART AS A HEALER As a lesbian woman, artist Clarity Haynes is aware that her “contributions to culture are likely to be erased as I am doubly marginalized”. However, her paintings of torsos and altars, which play a cathartic role both on her, the people who model for her, and the audience, will go down in history. With the aim to promote peace, empower the marginalized and fight the patriarchy, her beautifully honest, raw and truthful artworks serve…Read More
Editors Picks: 17 Things Not to Miss in New York’s Art World This Week The art world returns from winter break. Artnet News, January 6, 2020 Each week, we search New York City for the most exciting and thought-provoking shows, screenings, and events. See them below. . . . Clarity Haynes, Genesis (2019). Courtesy of the artist and Denny Dimin Gallery. 16. “Clarity Haynes: Altar-ed Bodies” at Denny Dimin Gallery For her new show at Denny Dimin, Haynes hones in on the alter…Read More
