Haley McKey is an artist and area native who grew up with a fierce love of the natural world that shines through in her work and practice today. Whether her subject is a flower, the human figure or an overgrown landscape, the rhythms of nature’s forms guide her composition. She works in oil and acrylic paint, ink, and watercolor. A lifelong artist, Haley studied biology and painting at the University of Virginia. She currently lives and works in Washington, DC’s Eastern Market neighborhood.

“I draw strongly from our region’s native (and non-native) plants and animals for my inspiration (rabbits, deer, foxes and snakes are my favorite subjects). My work is inspired by technical field notes and drawings of naturalists; the colorful creativity of children’s book illustrations; and direct observation of flora and fauna. I seek to give small things (like insects) a grand presence. I try to imbue my art with the mixture of fascination, joy and grief I experienced when I explored nature while growing up, touched by surreality and in compositions from my imagination.”

“In this exhibition, I explore the symbolic power of common animals and plants (like millipedes and bindweed); the supernatural feminine figure; and the alien, saturated landscapes made by electric lights at night. These themes celebrate the world of meaning nature provides beyond what we observe directly, and how life – from the creatures of the forest floor to the tallest tree – influences our emotions, reactions and memories.”