Michael Hayes is an artist based in Charleston, SC who works primarily with oil based media, creating nonrepresentational compositions that vary in their size and subject. Influenced by the New York School Abstract Expressionists, his work often parallels their processes and methodology: “I begin each piece by creating marks and shapes at random. I have found satisfaction in the spontaneous, often compulsive, act of drawing and painting. Sometimes, I recycle imagery from past works as a starting point for new pictures. In order to maintain spontaneity while working, I try to add and destroy layers intuitively until the residue builds up the complexity of the image. This process creates a platform for me to experiment with my materials as well as the formal values of painting. I like to think of the studio as a laboratory, where my experiments serve in the pursuit of a meaningful painting experience. My hope is to eventually create images that are autonomous.”