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Haley Josephs

Haley Josephs is an American painter based in Rhode Island and Maine. In 2014 she graduated from Yale University with an MFA in Painting & Printmaking. 

Drawing inspiration from notions of transformation and mortality, Josephs depicts solitary figures in fantastical yet foreboding environments that transcend time and space. Her enigmatic work embraces contradiction: the real and the imagined, dreaming and waking, memory and the present. 

Vivid color and an intuitive process guide her paintings, giving visual language to otherwise intangible emotions and sensations. Josephs' palette, imagery, and brushwork converge to create richly symbolic works that delve into the complexity of consciousness. Figures and landscapes become intertwined with the oneiric and the psyche, revealing a distinctive intimacy. A recurring character within Josephs' work is the artist's late sister, who is often evoked in bold, daring, portraits that amalgamate intimate and personal narratives of the artist with the universal human condition. 

Josephs’ enigmatic paintings are colorful, even whimsical, yet often contain a certain amount of darkness. A desire to explore themes of power and balance pervades her work, hinting a moment of liberation from one’s ostensibly everlasting psychological conflicts. 

Josephs' paintings have been exhibited internationally, including at the Cleveland Institute of Art, OH, US;  the Green Family Art Foundation, Dallas, TX, US; the Long Museum West Bund, Shanghai, China. Her work is in the collection of the X Museum, Beijing, China. 

  • Biography

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Selected artworks

  • Haley Josephs,                                      Puberty Blues, 2020

    Haley Josephs Puberty Blues, 2020

    Oil on Linen
    152.4 x 121.9 x 2.5 cm
    60 x 48 x 1 in

  • Haley Josephs,                                      Rip Van Winkle, 2020

    Haley Josephs Rip Van Winkle, 2020

    Oil on canvas
    122.2 x 91.4 x 4.1 cm
    48 1/8 x 36 x 1 5/8 in

  • Haley Josephs,                                      Dear Grandmother, 2020

    Haley Josephs Dear Grandmother, 2020

    Oil on canvas
    152.4 x 101.6 x 4.1 cm
    60 x 40 x 1 5/8 in

  • Haley Josephs,                                      Islands of Solitude, 2020

    Haley Josephs Islands of Solitude, 2020

    triptych
    Oil on canvas
    122.2 x 180 cm
    48 1/8 x 70 7/8 in

  • Haley Josephs,                                      Fond Distant Memory, 2020

    Haley Josephs Fond Distant Memory, 2020

    Oil on canvas
    183.2 x 183.2 x 6 cm
    72 1/8 x 72 1/8 x 2 3/8 in

  • Haley Josephs,                                      Twilight Swimmer, 2020

    Haley Josephs Twilight Swimmer, 2020

    Oil on linen
    152.4 x 121.9 x 2.5 cm
    60 x 48 x 1 in

  • Haley Josephs,                                      Rise, 2021

    Haley Josephs Rise, 2021

    Oil on linen
    182.9 x 147.3 cm
    72 x 58 in

  • Haley Josephs,                                      Nutrition, 2021

    Haley Josephs Nutrition, 2021

    Oil on linen
    177.8 x 203.2 cm
    70 x 80 in

  • Haley Josephs,                                      Evening, 2021

    Haley Josephs Evening, 2021

    Oil on linen
    203.2 x 177.8 cm
    80 x 70 in

  • Haley Josephs,                                      Under Moonlight, 2021

    Haley Josephs Under Moonlight, 2021

    Oil on linen
    27.9 x 35.6 cm
    11 x 14 in

Museum exhibitions