John Moore: Shades of Gray

by Paul Galvez, Paul Galvez

In this catalog, which accompanied John Moore’s first exclusive drawing show, is composed of eighteen charcoal works, all completed in 2009. An ambitious endeavor into a medium that the artist had only previously handled while in college, these large-scale drawings each have a unique subject and are not studies or preparatory drawings for paintings. Seeking a break from painting, his sole pursuit over the last decade and the focus of a mid-career retrospective in 2009, the artist was drawn to a total immersion in a new medium. Charcoal’s flexibility and variety of hues enhances the depth of field and the articulation of architectural forms - longstanding hallmarks of Moore’s work. The density of the heavily worked charcoal achieves a surface richness akin to painting. Each work also reveals Moore’s own analytic approach to the urban landscape and architecture - lifelong interests. Moore served as chair of the Fine Arts Department at The University of Pennsylvania from 1999 through 2008, capping off a distinguished teaching career at Tyler School of Art, Boston University and UPenn. The artist has shown extensively in New York and Philadelphia, in museum and gallery exhibitions, and his work is in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago; Metropolitan Museum of Art; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the Philadelphia Museum of Art; SFMOMA and Yale University Art Gallery.

56 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2010