Deborah Hay was born in Brooklyn, NY. She grew up in the art world, first as a student of dance, and then lived and worked within the 1960’s art scene. For six decades, Deborah Hay has been a pioneering figure in experimental postmodern dance. There was rarely a weekend without openings to attend in galleries and museums. After over 60 years, she continues this practice and performs and teaches worldwide.
While globally recognized for her choreographic work, "Different Dances" presents a new series of fourteen monoprints created by Hay in 2026 at Flatbed Press. Much like her dance scores, these visual works rely on chance, spontaneous determination, and poetry.
b. 1941, Brooklyn, NY
MUSEUM PERFORMANCES AND INSTALLATIONS
Whitney Museum of American Art, NYC
MoMA, NYC
MASS MoCA, North Adams, MA
The Getty, Los Angeles
LACMA, Los Angeles
Walker Art Center, MN
Laguna Gloria Art Museum, TX
Blanton Museum, TX
Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, CN
Berkeley Art Museum, CA
Pompidou, Paris
Retrospectives of Hay’s lifetime works were presented in Berlin, Germany, 2019, and in Barcelona, Spain, 2021
UPCOMING
2026
Performances in Athens, Greece and Frankfurt, Germany
2027
Collaboration with artist Mike Smith commissioned by The Contemporary Austin
AWARDS
2015
The Chevalier De L’ordre Des Artes Et Des Lettres from the French Government
BOOKS
Moving Through the Universe in Bare Feet, 1974, Swallow Press
Lamb at the Altar, 1994, Duke University Press
My Body, The Buddhist, 2000, Wesleyan University Press
Using the Sky, 2019, Wesleyan University Press