Joseph Hart’s 'Life Paintings' Explore Nature and Abstraction at Halsey McKay

Halsey McKay Gallery presents “Life Paintings,” Joseph Hart’s seventh solo exhibition with the gallery, running now through August 25. In this show, Hart departs from his usual multimedia assemblage process, opting instead for the classic approach of applying paint directly onto stretched canvas with brushes.

Each painting began as a small study, allowing Hart to carefully premeditate compositions and color palettes — a procedural shift from his traditionally spontaneous mark-making. While improvisation remains a component, these works demonstrate a new sense of deliberateness and precision. Shapes, contours, and structures are more measured, with thoughtful paint handling ranging from thick, surgical strokes to smooth, subtle brushwork.

Beneath the painted surfaces, crayon drawings peek through as a structural framework guiding the compositions. The refined color palettes, featuring subtle tonal shifts and soft hues, imbue the work with a calming atmosphere that complements Hart’s allegorical imagery.

Though largely abstract, Hart’s forms draw from nature — plant curls, bones, bodies — deconstructed and reassembled into wayward shapes. He also revisits elements from his previous works, incorporating them as visual echoes across the series, illustrating how ideas evolve through iteration.

Hart’s work remains rooted in exploration, using abstraction to navigate conceptual and aesthetic challenges while prioritizing playfulness and beauty. He seeks harmony within tension and reflects on the complexity of the visual and lived experiences through painting.

A New York-based artist, Hart is also the founder and host of Deep Color, a celebrated arts-focused oral history podcast. His work is held in collections including the RISD Museum, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Davis Museum at Wellesley College, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. He has taught at Rhode Island School of Design, Penland School of Craft, and The City College of New York. Hart lives in Brooklyn with his partner and two children.

Halsey McKay Gallery is located at 79a Newtown Lane, East Hampton. For more information, visit halseymckay.com.