Artist Statement

Get ready to groove.

Haley Potter’s work deconstructs the energy of sound and rebuilds it as vibrant, large-scale abstract compositions.

Influenced by live musical performance, her work evokes the passage of time, while simultaneously maintaining the feeling of motion. Overlapping figures maneuver their instruments through a world where each movement is captured, examined, and celebrated. Vibrating color palettes and flat planes of color explore the dynamics of chroma and emotion.

In “Groove”, Haley’s work exists in dialogue with the rich musical history of Bell Labs. While working there, innovator Max Mathews developed the first widely-used program to enable a computer to create music. In 1970, he collaborated with composer Richard Moore on the hybrid system “GROOVE”, which focused on live performance.

Haley’s process works in reverse, as she examines sound and translates it through the tools of paint and print. Like Mathews, Haley’s work represents the interest in interpreting sound through a new lens.

The sculptures of Sarah Mehoyas utilize the salvaged modular steel walls from Bell Labs. Meyohas integrates an infinity mirror, a device she’s employed throughout her practice, as an infinite call and response where the boundaries of time and space seem unending.

Together, Bell Lab’s unique music history, Haley Potter’s bold music-inspired work, and Sarah Mehoyas’ sculptures celebrate innovation, curiosity, and the intersection of art and technology.

In collaboration with Creative Director and Lead Designer of Bell Works Paola Zamudio, “Groove” encourages viewers to put on their dancing shoes, and to experience a new kind of concert, now performing at the Block.