Andy Moses-Geodynamics

Andy Moses grew up in Los Angeles, California and attended California Institute of Arts from 1979 to 1982, where he was immersed in a rigorous program in conceptual art. He initially focused on film and performance, studying under artists such as Michael Asher, John Baldessari, and Barbara Kruger, but quickly selected painting as his chosen area of study. Moving to NYC after obtaining his degree in 1982, Moses worked for Pat Steir, while simultaneously developing his own distinctive style of organic abstraction.

Moses’ work oscillates between nonrepresentational abstraction and imagery inspired by the natural world.  The notion of suggestiveness is important to Moses’ work since each composition invites the viewer to interpret it. There is no correct or incorrect reading, this open-endedness or what Moses likes to call “interconnectedness” is one of the main points of his body of work. Moses’ new form of abstraction, with its unleashing of color and movement alludes to, and suggests many different possibilities, yet still carries with it an element of mystery. 

Over the years, Moses’ work has continuously evolved; both in terms of imagery and the surfaces upon which he paints. In the early 2000’s, when he moved back to California, he first started exploring shaped canvases. These shaped canvases while still rectangular were either convex or concave, their imagery concentrated in gradations of color, punctuated by other colors running through them. Even though these works made reference to historical minimalism they were also suggestive of an infinite horizon. Over the following decade, his canvas shapes and imagery became more active and complex. Tondos, for example, were a way for the artist to separate his work from the suggestiveness of landscape paintings, and as a way to venture into more abstract, even psychedelic spaces. From the tondos emerged the use of hexagonal canvases. As a natural evolution of the tondo, the hexagon has become Moses’ canvas of choice, allowing him to continue to develop and push the abstract angle of his art in new directions. 

In tandem with the advent of the hexagonal canvases, Moses has also revisited the rectangular canvas. Inspired by the progression the hexagon brought out in his work, the rectangular canvases now also reflect the tensions between the natural and man-made, and veer more toward the abstract. 

Ultimately, what Moses is searching for is to take his viewer on a “journey of looking,” a journey wherein perception can be opened up, creating connections with the beauty of the natural world around us. While both abstraction and landscape painting have long been embraced as styles and movements, Moses’ work is far from nostalgic. He is firmly a 21^st century painter, leading the way in pushing the cannons towards new and unique directions.

Andy Moses will be having his first solo show in Miami this December at Spanierman Modern, coinciding with the 2019 Art Basel, Miami Edition. The works exhibited will feature the new explorations in color and form that Moses has been developing expressly for the occasion.