Michael Hayden
(1943–)
Michael Hayden
1943–
Michael Hayden (1943– ) is a Vancouver-born visual artist, light sculptor, and painter whose work blends lighting and found objects such as wax, stones, pipes, hinges, etc., all incorporated to create a unique spectacle. An example is one of Hayden’s most famous public commissions at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, Sky’s the Limit, 1987, where bright waves of multicolor neon tubes undulate from the ceiling while complimentary glass blocks light up the walls.
After graduating from the Ontario College of Art, Hayden created a ten-room presentation of sights, sounds, and smells titled Mind Excursion, 1967, which was installed within the Laidlaw Refectory, University of Toronto. Since then, Hayden was involved in other public commissions in Canada including Arc en Ciel, 1978, at Yorkdale subway station and the York Electric Murals, 1970, within the Scott Library.
Hayden currently resides in Santa Rosa, California, and has had over 30 solo exhibitions in Canada, the US, and Europe. His artworks are included in numerous public collections, including those of the Institute of Contemporary Art at the University of Pennsylvania, the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, the National Gallery of Canada, the Art Gallery of Ontario, and the Van Abbemuseum.
