New works by California painter Andy Moses turn desert landscapes into waterfalls of paint

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About the artist: Originally from Los Angeles Andy Moses (b. 1962) attended the renowned California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) between 1979 and 1981. Focusing on performance, film and painting, Moses studied under Michael Asher, John Baldessari and Barbara Kruger. After graduating, he worked with Pat Steir in New York and quickly developed the process-based style of painting for which he is renowned. Harnessing the potential of the physical properties of his materials, such as paint viscosity and chemical reactions, Moses’ method of using gravity to let pigments flow and flow onto the canvas results in compositions that simultaneously contain elements of abstraction. and representation. Moses’ first group exhibition was at Artists Space in 1986 and his first solo exhibition was at the Annina Nosei Gallery in 1987. Since then he has exhibited extensively nationally and internationally, including in more than a dozen museum exhibits. In 2000, Moses moved to Los Angeles, specifically to Venice Beach, where he continued to hone his unique painting practice.

Andy Moses. Courtesy of the artist and Bentley Gallery, Phoenix.

What do you want to know: Located in Phoenix, Arizona, Bentley Gallery has been a bastion of contemporary art in the American Southwest for over thirty-five years. Recently, the Bentley Gallery presented the solo exhibition ‘Andy Moses: Desert of Light’, comprised of recent works that feature Moses’ signature-like canvases and swirling abstractions. All of the work in the presentation was largely inspired by elements of nature found on the west coast and southwestern United States, such as the coastal winds of California and vast desert regions. The basic natural compositions of these landscapes, such as their geographies and the quality of light, are used as starting points from which Moses interprets and extrapolates through painting.

Why we love it: The recent works of Moses evoke a mirage that shimmers into existence, a vision that has not fully coalesced. Through the color palette and visually perceived movement of the paintings on the canvas, the landscape and natural elements are conveyed through abstract and subject visual means and invite prolonged gazing to infer where the depiction ends and the work begins. ‘abstraction. Notably, the artist’s hand is absent from these works, as Moses uses a method of tilting the canvas and gravity to move and shift the flow and direction of the pigments rather than a brush or palette knife. This suppression offers allusions to the invisible, but equally powerful, aspects of nature, such as wind, heat or sound. The purity of the pigment flows creates a meditative and visually immersive experience, which allows the viewer to not only capture the artist’s vision, but also simultaneously explore their own subjective emotional response.

See Andy Moses’ work below.