Traditional African Baskets and Pottery Meet Pop Culture in Donte K. Hayes' Sculptures

"Redolent of African basketry, hairstyles, headwear, and pottery, Donté K. Hayes ' abstract ceramic sculptures may be interpreted as poetic vessels, even though they lack traditional openings. While we easily associate clay pots and round woven forms with ideas related to storage, protection, and even spiritual significance, they also nod to the human head as a holder-a kind of receptacle for culture, language, personal expression, and dreams."

"For the past several years, Hayes has approached porcelain with an emphasis on mostly monochrome black forms with meticulously hand-marked surfaces with textures that appear almost strand-like. Recently, he's begun incorporating colored porcelain into the bulbous forms, inspired by African textiles like kente cloth and a kind of hat called or prestige hats, worn by high-status Bamileke people of Cameroon."

"In addition to other vibrant new works, this piece "speaks to the African Diaspora's freedom to be bold, unapologetic, and fully at ease in their own skin," Hayes says. "Through experimenting with colored porcelain and by combining porcelain with mason stains to create distinct colored tones, like a DJ, I remix inherited materials into new forms, challenging ceramic hierarchies and cultural assumptions tied to color.""

Donté K. Hayes creates abstract porcelain sculptures that evoke African basketry, hairstyles, headwear, and pottery, suggesting poetic vessels without traditional openings. The works link clay pots and woven forms to storage, protection, spiritual significance, and the human head as a receptacle for culture, language, personal expression, and dreams. The head is more than the center of the brain and thought; it is the place where the soul lives and must be protected. Hayes focuses on monochrome black forms with meticulously hand-marked, strand-like textures and increasingly introduces colored porcelain inspired by kente cloth and Bamileke prestige hats. Motifs reference Ghanaian and Burkinabé ceremonial pottery and hip-hop visual culture.

Read at Colossal