BIOGRAPHY

Clarity Haynes (b. 1971, McAllen, TX) is known for her long-standing explorations of the torso as a site for painted portraiture. Works in her Breast Portrait project, always painted from life and usually monumental in scale, have focused on themes of healing, trauma, and self-determination. While the bodies tell the intimate stories of other people, a recent series of altars are self-portraits of sorts, made up of mementos and power objects collected by the artist over decades. Feminist and queer craft practices are often honored in her work. Bright colors, lively compositions and multiple narratives conjoin in her depictions of both bodies and altars. Haynes received her MFA from Brooklyn College, NY and CFA from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, PA. Her work has been exhibited widely, including at the Ackland Art Museum, NC; Art Museum of South Texas, TX; Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, MO; Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art, NY; Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art, NV; National Portrait Gallery, DC; Pennsylvania Academy of the Arts, PA; Tacoma Art Museum, WA; and Women’s Studies Research Center at Brandeis University, MA, among others. Her work has been discussed in publications like The New York Times, Hyperallergic, Art in America, Washington Post, Huffington Post, Artforum, Juxtapoz Magazine, and Beautiful/Decay Magazine. Haynes is based in New York, NY.