Mark Moore Fine Art Blog

The gallery is pleased to announce that The Tang Museum at Skidmore College has acquired “Shell #5” (2012), by Allison Schulnik for its permanent collection.

The Tang Collection of over 7,000 objects represents a wide variety of materials, subject matter, and time periods. From Pre-Columbian pots to works made by current contemporary artists, our collection offers an unlimited variety of opportunities for study, inspiration, and discussion for the Skidmore community and beyond. The collection is used in imaginative ways and varying contexts through classes, exhibitions, and research.

Allison Schulnik choreographs her subjects in compositions that embody a spirit of the macabre, a Shakespearian comedy/tragedy of love, death and farce. The subjects often stare back at the audience and study them as they are in turn studied, aware of their ancestors from the Grand Theme works of the past, the genre paintings that inform them. Although a haunting sense of foreboding, discomfort and unease is palpable, a sense of understanding, compassion and hopefulness for her cast of characters is still evident in the heavy impasto paintings. Her sculptural use of oil paint references her clay-animation background, as a motion-like sensibility affords her paintings unparalleled depth and energy.

Born in 1978 (San Diego, CA), Schulnik earned her BFA in Experimental Animation from the California Institute of the Arts, Valencia (CA). She has had solo exhibitions at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art (OK), Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art (KS), Rokeby Gallery (London), Unosunove Arte Contemporanea (Rome), Division Gallery (Montreal), and ZieherSmith Gallery (NY), in addition to her inclusion in film festivals around the world. Her work has also been shown at the Garage Center for Contemporary Culture (Moscow), Hammer Museum (CA), Los Angeles County Museum of Art (CA), Santa Barbara Museum of Art (CA), Contemporary Arts Museum (LA), and Hangar-7 (Salzburg), among many others. Allison Schulnik’s work is in the public collections of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (CA), Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art (KS), Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego (CA), Santa Barbara Art Museum (CA), Museé de Beaux Arts (Montreal), Farnsworth Art Museum (ME), Laguna Art Museum (CA), Montreal Contemporary Art Museum (Canada), Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art (CT), and Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (Canada). The artist lives and works in Los Angeles, CA.

For more information about the artist or available work, please email info@markmooregallery.com.

Gallery artist Vernon Fisher is part of the exhibition “Contemporary Masters: Works on Paper, from the Collection of the Art Museum of South Texas.”

Exclusively from the AMST Vault, this exhibition of 60 works on paper includes three new works to the Museum’s collection and 22 that have not been previously exhibited at AMST. Artists include Milton Avery, Luis Jimenez, Judy Chicago, Donald Judd, Sol LeWitt, Ed Ruscha and Andy Warhol.

Click here to read an in-depth article about the show, highlighting Fisher’s work, in Caller Times.

For more information about the artist or available works, please email info@markmooregallery.com.

The gallery is proud to announce Ali Smith‘s upcoming solo exhibition at Mindy Solomon Gallery, “Fever Pitch.” This show opens Saturday, September 12th 6-9pm, and remains on view through October 16, 2015.

Says Mindy Solomon:

Ali Smith’s paintings in ‘Fever Pitch’ mark a departure from her previous work. Experimenting with larger, more gestural swaths of color and scale shifts, the compositions explore a new openness in which forms are less constrained and paint is applied in raw, lush marks. Pushing the intuitive line against more carefully edited forms and developed shapes, Smith utilizes color as a potent form of communication. Ranging in size from ambitious to intimate, ‘Fever Pitch’ spotlights Smith’s range and desire to give the viewer a complex, multi-layered perceptual experience.

Drawing on the history of abstraction while often breaking down or remixing, Smith toys with elements from art history as seen through her eyes: “My new series of paintings combines intuitive drawing with more slowly drawn-out imagery, which collides to create complex, almost map-like surfaces. With this latest work, there are a variety of surfaces—sculptural, flat, atmospheric, gestural application against intricate marks—that create a visual flip-flop or contradiction, a constant theme in my work.”

Ali Smith (b. 1976) lives and works in Long Beach, CA. She earned a BS in Studio Art at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY, studying in Paris for her junior year, and went on to complete an MFA in Drawing and Painting at California State University, Long Beach. Her work has been featured in solo showings across the US, including Los Angeles, New York City, Boston, and Houston. Recent group shows include “Defining Abstraction” at the Ringling College of Art, Sarasota, FL; “Here Now,” Wilding Cran Gallery, Los Angeles, CA; “Neo-Chroma: Large-scale non-objective painting,” Bentley Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ; “The OsCene,” Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, CA; “Art for Art’s Sake: Selections from the Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation,” Marjorie Museum, UNLV (traveling); “Millennial Abstraction,” Marin Community Foundation, Novato, CA; and “Chasm of the Supernova,” Center for the Arts Eagle Rock, Los Angeles, CA. Her work is in held in public and private collections including the Weisman Foundation, the Laguna Art Museum, the Progressive Collection, and the private collection of Richard Prince. Smith is a recipient of the Hoff Award and the City of Long Beach professional artist grant.

For more information about the artist or available works, please email info@markmooregallery.com.

In observance of Labor Day and our upcoming exhibition installation needs, the gallery will be closed to the public September 1-11, 2015. We will be open by appointment only during this time. To schedule an appointment specific for artwork viewings, please email info@markmooregallery.com, or call 310-453-3031.

We look forward to seeing you at the opening reception for Andrew Schoultz and Okay Mountain on Saturday, September 12, 6-8:30pm!

The gallery is pleased to announce the recent acquisition of a major work by Andrew Schoultz, “Melting Candle (Blue)” (2012), by Fidelity Investments for their art collection.

Fidelity Investments, one of the world’s largest providers of financial services also boasts a corporate art collection that numbers more than 8,000 pieces worldwide, and a long history of supporting local artists.

Sourcing inspiration from 15th Century German map making and Indian miniature paintings, Andrew Schoultz’s frenetic imagery depicts an ephemeral history bound to repeat itself. In his mixed-media works, notions of war, spirituality and sociopolitical imperialism are reoccurring themes, which shrewdly parallel an equally repetitive contemporary pursuit of accumulation and power. Intricate line work, painting, metal leaf and collage twist and undulate under Schoultz’s meticulous hand, ranging from intimately sized wall works to staggering murals and installations. While his illustrated world seems one of chaos and frenzy, Schoultz also implies a sense of alluring fantasy and whimsy – a crossroads vaguely familiar to the modern world.

Schoultz (b. 1975, WI) received his BFA from the Academy of Art University, San Francisco (CA). He has had solo exhibitions in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Copenhagen, Philadelphia, Rotterdam, Boston, London, Portland, Detroit and Milan. He has been included in group exhibitions at the Andy Warhol Museum (PA), Torrance Art Museum (CA), Havana Biennial (Cuba), Hyde Park Arts Center (IL), Laguna Art Museum (CA), San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (CA), among others. His work can be seen in the public collections of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (CA), Los Angeles County Museum of Art (CA), Frederick R. Weisman Foundation (CA) and the Progressive Art Collection (OH), in addition to his publicly funded murals in Portland (ME), Jogjakarta (Indonesia) and San Francisco (CA). Schoultz lives and works in San Francisco (CA).

 For more information about the artist or available work, please email info@markmooregallery.com.

Melting Candle (Blue)

Gallery artist Ben Weiner is in a new article by W Magazine featuring artists who work with unconventional materials. Weiner is in good company, alongside Jenny Holzer, Sterling Ruby and others.

Click here to see the article.

For more information about the artist or available work, please email info@markmooregallery.com.

The gallery is pleased to announce the Museum of Art and History‘s recent acquisition of “Traced Gesture (Aqua Caliente)”(2014), by artist David Ryan.

Lancaster Museum of Art and History (MOAH) houses a collection of post-war period and contemporary art in the areas of painting, sculpture, prints, drawings, photography, film, installations and new media. The museum also houses a collection of art pertaining to the Antelope Valley region. This art was created by artists that lived in, worked in or were inspired to create by the region. Rotating art exhibitions focus on contemporary artists, as well as the art housed within the current collection. In addition, the museum has a vast collection of Native American, historic artifacts and geologic specimens pertaining primarily to the Antelope Valley and its surrounding areas. Many of these items will be on permanent display within the museum, while others make up some of the history themed rotating exhibits showcased throughout the year.

David Ryan (b. 1971, Texas) gleans inspiration from the slick colors and lines of cars, electronic gadgets and household appliances to transform mundane, undesirable MDF into luxurious, enticing wall-sculptures. By creating multiple (literal) layers, Ryan explores the way line, shape and shadow interact to produce perceptual conundrums that intrigue his viewer. Thus his conceptually multi-layered pieces speak not only of glossy consumer products but also refer to phenomenology and complex art theories. His work explores the dynamic between craft and production, art and design, man and machine.

Ryan received his BFA from the University of Texas in Austin, TX before making the move to earn his MFA from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (NV) where he studied under Dave Hickey and Libby Lumpkin. His work has been exhibited
at the Laguna Art Museum (CA), Las Vegas Art Museum (NV), Galerie Jean-Luc & Takako Richard (Paris), Seomi & Tuus (Seoul), Davidson Contemporary (NY), and James Kelly Contemporary (NM). David Ryan lives and works in Las Vegas.

For more information about the artist or available work, please email info@markmooregallery.com.

The gallery is pleased to announce that Joshua Dildine‘s painting “Yards Relish” (2015), which is included in the gallery’s current exhibition, was acquired by the Frederick R. Weisman Foundation (CA) for its permanent collection.

THE FREDERICK R. WEISMAN ART FOUNDATION is dedicated to continuing the legacy and vision of Frederick R. Weisman, an extraordinary entrepreneur, philanthropist, and art collector. He held an uncompromising belief in the cultural value of art and understood the importance of both the individual artist and creative process. In carrying out Mr. Weisman’s intentions, the Foundation seeks to preserve, collect, and make publicly accessible his collection of modern and contemporary art as a means to strengthen and contribute to the greater artistic and intellectual life of our time.

More than four hundred works of art are on display at the Foundation. The collection includes works by European Modernists including Cezanne, Picasso, and Kandinsky and Surrealist works by Ernst, Miro, and Magritte. The holdings in postwar art include works by Giacometti, Noguchi, Calder, Rauschenberg, and Johns; Abstract Expressionist paintings by de Kooning, Francis, Still, and Rothko; Color-Field paintings by Frankenthaler, Louis, and Noland; and Pop Art by Warhol, Lichtenstein, Oldenburg, and Rosenquist. Contemporary California works include those by Ruscha and Goode, and Super Realist sculptures by Hanson and de Andrea.

These holdings are part of a larger collection that Mr. Weisman established as the Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation in 1982. Currently under the direction of Billie Milam Weisman, the Foundation continues to make the collection available through loans to museums worldwide, docent tours at the Los Angeles estate, exhibitions in public-art venues, and the funding of several art museums, including the Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art at Pepperdine University in Malibu, the New Orleans Museum of Art, the San Diego Museum of Art, and the Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum at the University of Minnesota, designed by Frank O. Gehry.

Dildine (b. 1984, CA), received his MFA from Claremont Graduate University (CA). He has been featured in group exhibitions in Oakland, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Murfreesboro, as well as the Frederick Weisman Museum of Fine Art (CA). His work is included in the public collection of the Sweeney Art Gallery, University of California Riverside (Riverside, CA). He was also the recipient of the 2010 Claremont Graduate University Award. The artist lives and works in Claremont, CA.

Yards Relish

The gallery is pleased to announce the Tang Museum‘s acquisition of a major work by  Jeffry Mitchell, “Flower Pot With Flower Growing Out of Hole” (2012), for it’s permanent collection.

The Tang Collection of over 7,000 objects represents a wide variety of materials, subject matter, and time periods. From Pre-Columbian pots to works made by current contemporary artists, our collection offers an unlimited variety of opportunities for study, inspiration, and discussion for the Skidmore community and beyond. The collection is used in imaginative ways and varying contexts through classes, exhibitions, and research.

Identifying himself as a “gay folk artist,” Jeffry Mitchell creates work that deals largely with dualities. Using a variety of materials and methods, including ceramics, printmaking, and drawing, Mitchell manages to juxtapose seemingly disparate ideas into beautiful, fragile, and startling works. Using sweet, furry animals and soft, pastel colors, Mitchell transforms kitsch subject matter into a study of complex human experiences, including death, sex, religion, and loss. His work, at times appearing clumsy and hand-wrought, remains approachable and innocent, engaging viewers with his child-like curiosity and ungainly re-creations of recognized subjects. While highly sophisticated in his technique, Mitchell chooses to display vulnerability in his work, allowing both himself and his viewers to negotiate frightening realities by couching them in the comfort of the familiar and a faith in innocence. His work is suffused with a desire to welcome, accept, and even love the disconcerting and flawed aspects of ourselves and others.

For more information about the artist or available work, please email info@markmooregallery.com.

The gallery is pleased to announce the Museum of Art and History‘s recent acquisition of “Imagination is Always the Winner” (2013), by artist Joshua Dildine.

Lancaster Museum of Art and History (MOAH) houses a collection of post-war period and contemporary art in the areas of painting, sculpture, prints, drawings, photography, film, installations and new media. The museum also houses a collection of art pertaining to the Antelope Valley region. This art was created by artists that lived in, worked in or were inspired to create by the region. Rotating art exhibitions focus on contemporary artists, as well as the art housed within the current collection. In addition, the museum has a vast collection of Native American, historic artifacts and geologic specimens pertaining primarily to the Antelope Valley and its surrounding areas. Many of these items will be on permanent display within the museum, while others make up some of the history themed rotating exhibits showcased throughout the year.

Merging found autobiographical photographs with viciously gestural painting, Joshua Dildine confronts the subject of conventional recollection and familial structure. A fixation shared by society at large, the contemplation of past events and relationships ultimately shapes our psychology moving forward – as a flicker of nostalgia, shame, or glee can be activated by a single sensory cue. With a purposeful cognizance, Dildine mines these memories for the underlying traits that forge our shared humanity: the humor found in the compromising, the endearment found in the aggravating, or the conflict found in the absent. His painterly swaths are as visceral as the family photos they conceal, his vivid palette alluding to the glaring absurdity of our incessant self-analysis and contemplation of the past. In his most recent body of work, Dildine embellishes elements or patterns within the original image in order to create a farcical confrontation with the past – a perspective that is both critical and celebratory. Through this carefully disjointed lens, Dildine creates experiences that are at once present and bygone, and whimsically harnesses nature of our being.

Dildine (b. 1984, CA), received his MFA from Claremont Graduate University (CA). He has been featured in group exhibitions in Oakland, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Murfreesboro, as well as the Frederick Weisman Museum of Fine Art (CA). His work is included in the public collection of the Sweeney Art Gallery, University of California Riverside (Riverside, CA). He was also the recipient of the 2010 Claremont Graduate University Award. The artist lives and works in Claremont, CA.

For more information about the artist or available work, please email info@markmooregallery.com.

Imagination is Always the Winner, 2013 / acrylic, spray paint, oil and uv coated ink on canvas / 66 x 60 inches