Donté K Hayes’ work exists at the intersection of the African diaspora, contemporary popular culture, history, and Afrofuturism. The embellishments and repetitious marks of his meticulously hand-built ceramic forms draw from a variety of cultural reference points, including African heirlooms, textiles, colonial fashion, soundwaves, hair, superheroes, and science fiction tv shows like Doctor Who.
Objects of Tomorrow presents future artifacts from a history not yet forged, artifacts for future generations to consider and admire. Hayes believes that these modern artifacts have the ability to preserve, empower, and heal the past, but also provide a better understanding of the future for people of color.
Donté K. Hayes graduated summa cum laude from Kennesaw State University with a BFA in Ceramics and Printmaking with an Art History minor. Hayes received his MA and MFA with honors from the University of Iowa and is the 2017 recipient of the University of Iowa Arts Fellowship. His work has been exhibited nationally and internationally culminating with a recent solo presentation at the last year’s Armory Show art fair in New York City. His work is included in the permanent collections of the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Museum of American Art, The Gibbes Museum of Art, Charleston, South Carolina, the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, the Newark Museum of Art, the Institute Museum of Ghana, and many others.
