Mark Moore Fine Art Blog

Mark Moore Gallery is proud to announce its representation of LA-based painter, Lester Monzon, who opens his first solo exhibition with the gallery on Saturday, September 14th, 6-8p.

Since the war between “fine art” and “design” has been waged – a distinction increasingly diminishing in the advent of accessible technology – context has historically been the dividing faction between the two practices. Lester Monzon largely aims to debunk such superficial systems of value and distinction by fusing disparate aesthetics, an engagement that tests the suppositions of the viewer. Colorful gesticulations conceal sections of rigid patterning, a tete-a-tete between abstract expressionism and hard-edge abstraction that implies a gentle lampooning of the taxonomic tradition. Monzon upends the formalism and segregation innate to the fine art world, and fabricates a composite genealogy of painting – a pithy resolution to an otherwise vapid debate. Monzon’s luscious brushstrokes slyly creep into a Hirst-esque field of dots or Noland-like plane of stripes, like the resurrection of a once-declared dead practice through a satirical hand. In his recent work, Monzon applies this critique of contextual art to mark-making in public spaces; be it graffiti on tiles in a public bathroom, stains on the sidewalk, or the popularized notion of “street art.”

Monzon (b. 1973, Brooklyn) received his M.F.A. from Art Center College of Design (CA). His work has been exhibited at the Wignall Museum of Contemporary Art (CA), in addition to shows in San Francisco, Chicago, and Los Angeles. The artist lives and works in Los Angeles (CA).

For more information about the artist, or available work, please feel free to email info@markmooregallery.com, and we will accommodate your needs.

Gallery artist David Rathman will open his first retrospective exhibition at the Rochester Art Center on Friday, September 13th. With a selection of works spanning his career to date, “Stand by Your Accidents” will feature works produced from 1991-2013. An extensive catalog will be produced in association with the exhibition. Joining a contextualizing essay by Kris Douglas, Chief Curator, Rochester Art Center, there will be an interview with the artist by Siri Engberg, Curator, Walker Art Center, and an essay by Minnesota writer Brad Zellar.

Rathman will be giving an artist talk at 6pm the night of the opening reception. For more information about this, and other special events, please call the RAC at 507-282-8629. We congratulate David on this major milestone!

MMG is pleased to announce that the Orange County Museum of Art in Newport Beach (CA) has acquired a major canvas by gallery artist Tim Bavington.

His work is also included in the public collections of Frederick R. Weisman Foundation Collection (CA),Honolulu Art Museum (HI), Albright-Knox Art Gallery (NY), Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego (CA), Portland Art Museum (OR), Palm Springs Art Museum (CA), Denver Art Museum (CO), the Museum of Modern Art (NY), and the Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art, Utah State University (UT), among others.

We congratulate Tim on this new milestone.

MMG’s Andrew Schoultz will have his third solo exhibition at New York’s Morgan Lehman Gallery this fall. Titled “New Work,” the exhibition will open September 5, 2013 and run through October 12th, with an opening reception for the artist on September 5th from 6 – 8pm.

Says the gallery:

Often re-appropriating objects laden with cultural and historical implications, Schoultz provocatively confronts significant socio-political issues. In Para Trooping Skull Ship (2013), a green sky of $7,000 in shredded US currency cradles a ship with skull painted flags. Meditation Under Stress (2013) also resonates deeply with issues of corporate and political greed and excess, as, in his signature style, an actual American flag appears to drip or bleed in gold. Images of thrashing waters, erupting volcanoes and distressed trees are also prevalent in his new work, reminding us of nature’s devastating fury and recalling the catastrophic realities of global warming. It is through the pulsing repetition of this historically loaded imagery, as it continues to be redefined in the face of a contemporary world, that Schoultz’s cultural, political and environmental commentary can accurately reflect the turmoil of today’s America.

Running concurrently with his solo show at the Monterey Art Museum (CA), this exhibition is surely not to be missed!

Gallery artist Ali Smith will have her work displayed in the upcoming group exhibition, “Art for Art’s Sake” at the Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art on the Pepperdine University campus. The exhibition features selections from the foundation’s permanent collection, including “Half Life” (2007) by the artist. With an opening reception on September 7th, from 5-7pm, the exhibition will remain on view through November 24th.

Says the museum:

Art for Art’s Sake was the rallying cry of the 19th-century Aesthetic Movement, which believed that art should be enjoyed for its pure visual qualities. This exhibition reexamines this concept in a group of contemporary artists whose art focuses on sumptuous beauty and pure visual effects. Works by Mark Chariker, Iva Gueorguieva, Brian Porray, and Ali Smith allow us to revive Whistler’s ideal that art should “appeal solely to the artistic sense of the eye.”

Gallery artist Kiel Johnson will be featured in the “Guestroom” for Summercamp ProjectProject’s upcoming exhibition, “Luddite Fallacy.” Also featuring Kristy Baltezore, John Burtal , Ichiro Irie & Randall Foster, Laura Krafft, Justin Michell, Tom Norris, and Nicola Vruwink, the exhibition will open Sunday August 25th, 5-8PM.

Says the press release:

The gallery is honored to be included in this year’s Texas Contemporary Art Fair, which takes place October 10-13th at the George R. Brown Convention Center (Houston, TX). Featuring new works by Clayton Brothers, Joshua Dildine, David Klamen, Julie Oppermann, Kim Rugg, Christopher Russell, Ali Smith, Penelope Umbrico, and Yoram Wolberger, the gallery booth will be a survey of new artists to the program, and those with upcoming solo exhibitions in 2014 or 2015.

Additionally, the gallery will present “Wishy Washy” (2006) by Clayton Brothers in a public area installation. Previously exhibited at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art (WI), Pasadena Art Museum (CA), and Art Basel Miami Beach (FL), “Wishy Washy” is the ultimate culmination of sociopolitical pastiche and folkloric narrative that multidisciplinary artist duo Clayton Brothers are most heralded for.

For more information about special events or details leading up to the fair, please contact info@markmooregallery.com.