Feature Exhibition in September August 16 2018
Larry Moore
The Curious Case of the Rhino in the Subway
On View: September 1 - 29, 2018
Opening Reception: Saturday, September 1, 4-7 PM
Artists Talk: Friday, September 14, 11 AM
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
Throughout his career, Larry Moore has taken on a range of creative ventures, from commercial illustration and graphic design to art instruction and creative coaching. His fine art oil and mixed-media paintings are no exception to his talents as a visual artist. Highly coveted and widely exhibited, the subject matter of his paintings ranges from luminous Plein Air scenes to inventive studio compositions.
For this exhibition, Moore presents the second act in an ongoing series titled Intrusion that he began in 2015 by asking the simple question, “Who is intruding on whom?" While the over-arching theme is environmentally charged, he discovered early on that, “each painting is allegorical in nature, either from a personal standpoint or as a statement about the human condition.”
This latest chapter in the series is titled The Curious Case of the Rhino in the Subway. With these paintings, Moore delves deeper into man’s complicated relationship with the natural world. The resulting paintings are both thought-provoking and strikingly beautiful juxtapositions of animals occupying man-made spaces, full of sweeping light and loose, expressive brushstrokes.
While Moore instinctively chooses which animals to place in each environment, the meaning behind these choices takes time to unfold. As Larry explains, “…I’ve come to trust the subconscious mind and the powers it holds. The choice of each animal comes almost immediately after considering the space for a brief time but it’s not until after the painting is completed that it begins to make sense. While some are certainly conscious environmental statements, there is always the presence of a hidden meaning. I view these like most people view writing, I am just telling stories to myself.”
The inspiration for the title of this exhibition comes from the piece The Last Train (above) featuring a lone rhinoceros waiting at a subway platform. At first glance, there is an element of humor at the absurd notion of a rhino in a subway in the first place. Humor gives way to questions, however. Why is the platform otherwise empty? Where is the rhino going? Has the “Last Train” already left? Notions about the effect of urban growth on natural ecosystems also come to mind. As a whole, this series is emotionally charged and beautifully executed. Each of Moore’s paintings works on many levels and tells its own story; a story with many overlapping, sometimes contradictory, themes that allow for a range of interpretations and conversations to unfold.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Larry Moore has been a professional visual communicator for the past 45 years, working from his roots as a mural and apparel artist in the surf industry into graphic design, advertising, illustration and fine art, achieving national recognition for his work in each of these areas of visual communication. Moore has exhibited widely throughout the United States, at venues such as the Huntsville Museum of Art, AL; Maitland Art Center, Maitland, FL; Orlando Museum of Art, FL; The Museum of Florida Art and Culture, Avon Park, FL; the Academy Art Museum, Easton, MD and the Laguna Museum of Art, CA, amongst others. He has also created murals and public art displays at multiple locations throughout Florida, that include the Cape Canaveral Port Authority, the Volusia Children’s Library, Amway Center and Central Florida Historical Museum. He has been an instructor since 1990, college and workshop, and has just published a successful book on creativity for artists called Fishing for Elephants: Insights and Exercises to Inspire Authentic Creativity.