Vessel
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Big Girls Umpqua Valley Arts Association Roseburg, Oregon May 15- June 30 Artists' Reception Friday, May 17 5 pm - 7 pm My work is about response, a response to an event, a moment in time or an observation. My largest scaled work, Big Girls consists of three larger-than-life charcoal drawings. Each piece portrays a monumental female figure. The contrast of marks and black charcoal on a field of white paper add a dramatic distinction between the body and the space that surrounds each woman. The indeterminacy of place suggests both sanctuary and confinement. Each figure presses up against the edges of the picture plane contemplating their conformity. I am both the artist and the model in these drawings, which adds to the diaristic approach in each piece. Each panel features a foregrounded female figure. Her physical mass touches every side of the rectangle. These drawings are not a rebuke of thick thighs or large breasts; nor are they about sexualizing the body. Rather, this work investigates how women dwell in space. The women, with their doll-like hands, stable their mass, as they touch the Earth. The triptych is about confrontation, contemplation, and confinement. The drawings reference various sources that include direct observation and photographs of my body. Two major influences are Michelangelo's Sibyls and the Madonna of the Doni Tondo. Both the Madonna and the sibyls are large, muscular women who occupy the space they dwell with confidence and knowledge of their self-worth. Another influence was Henrik Ibsen's play, The Doll's House. The play centers around the transformation of one woman from a doll to a real woman. The women in Big Girls are in a state of transformation as well. They are in a place of waiting as they contemplate their worthiness and how they are allowed to dwell in their allocated spaces. Big Girls was first exhibited in Portland, Oregon at the Museum of Contemporary Craft in August 2016. The thesis exhibition was the last show before becoming the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education. Big Girls has been invited to show at the Umpqua Valley Arts Association in Roseburg, Oregon in 2019. Big Girls was supported by a grant by the Oregon Arts Commission. The Commission awarded a transportation grant so that Big Girls could be transported to UVAA. This work could not have been transported without the funds from the Oregon Arts Commission. M. V. Moran earned her MFA in Visual Studies from Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, Oregon. Moran has a BFA in Painting from the University of Oregon. She is originally from the Umpqua Valley area and now lives in Eugene, Oregon. M. V. Moran The transportation of Big Girls was made possible by a generous grant from the Oregon Arts Commission. Thank you.
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Figuratively Speaking At Liberty Arts Collaborative Bend, Oregon Spring Exhibition March 6, 2019 - May 31, 2019 First Friday Art Walk and Reception April 5, 2019 May 3, 2019 Artists' Talk May 4, 2019 11 am The triptych, Just Us Three, now installed in Bend, Oregon at the arts collaborative gallery, At Liberty, is about solitude, solidarity and self-awareness. The large scaled drawings are exemplified by stylized women isolated within societal constructs. Each work is "42x96." Each woman is contained in her own space. The women confront the viewer with their gaze, their stance and their massive size. The charcoal on paper add to the drama by the contrast of black and white. Tension was added by the juxtaposition of the fragility of the paper and the strength of each woman.
My work consistently revolves around the female body. The human body fascinates me in all of its complexity; humans as physical, emotional and spiritual beings. I use my own body in my work to add a sense of understanding and empathy. My work is not a rebuke of thick thighs or voluptuous breasts. Rather, I am researching what it means to be in this body. Exaggerations allow me to see that all bodies have flaws and flaws are not the issue. My interest in how society expects too much from these frail, flawed forms. On average, human bodies only last about seventy-some years and they go through so many changes in that time. Therefore, a chance to research this journey of the body is a necessity I could not ignore. Investigating, research and experimentation are an important part of my work. Drawing is research. And, drawing large allows me to experiment and work on a drawing for an extended amount of time. Investigation consists of working from life, pictures or my own reflection in the mirror. External matters such as how I am feeling, words said to me or certain events affect my work. My work takes on internal and external factors and I am their filter. Edvard Munch, Rick Bartow, and Jim Dine were a major influence for this body of work. Each of these artists where highly prolific and were constantly experimenting with materials, concepts, and design principles. M. V. Moran earned her MFA in Visual Studies from Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, Oregon. Moran has a BFA in Painting from the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon. She currently works in Eugene, Oregon. M. V. Moran Image: M. V. Moran Just Us Three: Halt charcoal on paper 42"x96" 2016 $500 Please contact At Liberty Arts if interested in purchasing this work at (458) 206-3040. ongoing New Work Lincoln Gallery Eugene, Oregon February 1, 2019 - February 28, 2019 First Friday Art Walk and Hosted Reception February 1, 2019 5:30 pm - 8:00 pm This newest exhibition, ongoing, is a combination, a continuation and an opportunity to expand the ideas of my anxious circles series. However, this work is more than a continuation, it is a push to understand this need to paint and draw circles. And, in this work the audience became even more important than before. I want these pieces to draw in the viewer with contrast, textured details and dancing shapes. Each shape wants and needs to be in dialogue with the next shape. I have taken every opportunity in each piece to understand how each form relates to the other. I have worked and reworked the composition over and over again. This solo exhibition is about relationships, loss and the ongoing journey.
My work is consistently about loss, reconciliation and my relationship with God. The writings of C. S. Lewis has inspired much of my work, including this body of work. Lewis' book, A Grief Observed was a major influence for ongoing. In his book, he writes of loss, love and continuing to live without the love of his life. He writes about humans being like circles who touch and complete each other. The way C. S. Lewis writes about his loss and the great love he shared with another person, holds a truth that I want to experience in my own life. I want that kind of openness with others. The circles dance about searching for each other, hoping to be transformed by love and truth, even if loss is inevitable. This work has also been inspired by Gustav Klimt, Sonia Delaunay and the collection of Russian Icons that are part of the permanent collection at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art. The palette was highly influenced by the Russian Icons, while the shapes and sense of play came from the works of both Klimt and Delaunay. M. V. Moran earned her MFA in Visual Studies from Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, Oregon. Moran has a BFA in Painting from the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon. Her studio is currently located in Eugene, Oregon. Image: M. V. Moran detail. still life acrylic on canvas 16"x20" 2018 $450 Please contact the artist if you are interested in purchasing this work. mvmoran.artist@gmail.com Merge: the continuation and combination of anxious circles September 28, 2018 - January 31, 2019 First Friday Art Walk November 2, 2018 5:30 pm - 8 pm Capitello Eugene, Oregon This newest exhibition, Merge, is the combination and continuation of my anxious circles-despondent spheres series. The work is about the process of creating that relieves and reveals stress and anxiety. The paintings transform everyday melancholy, strife, and anxiousness into artwork that takes away burdens. For this work, I relied on memories, grief, social injustices and even joy.
During graduate school I was drawing circles to lessen stress. These circles brought me relief. The circles relieved my anxiety of all the stresses that graduate school encompasses. I allowed myself to draw circles and spheres in my sketchbook and began focusing on composition, line and color. I wanted the drawings to mean more than a quick sketch or silly doodle. After graduating and earning my MFA in Visual Studies, I decided to begin to focus on circles and spheres and create work around this concept. I reviewed my older work and found circles in nearly all my drawing and paintings. For some reason, circles were important to me, I wanted to understand the motivation of creating circles and what intent I could add. I researched the symbolic meaning of circles and how circles and spheres are used to add meaning to various writings, paintings and poetry. The circle represents many concepts from completeness, to wholeness, to Holiness. Circles have meaning: Circle of Life. Come Full Circle. The Wheel. The Planets. The Curve. The Hoop. The Ring. The Halo. There is play in this work. There are memories. Memories hold, contain people and events. Circles hold and contain. There is loss in this work. There is sadness and there is joy. The piece, Pan Dulce and roses, is about the sweetness that life holds. There is no worry in this piece, only goodness of memories. There is also sadness is this work, the piece, forgotten, is the fear of not belonging. The sadness, loneliness and worry of this work is also felt by the palette. The muted colors bring worry, while the bright colors represent the contrast of joy in life. This body of work also represents surrendering daily, to the reality that God is bigger than this world. The fear that dwells on this planet, and especially now, during these personally challenging political times, do not need to cause me worry. I may be called to action. I may be called to step up visually and verbally to confront injustices of this world, but I do not need to fear. Gustav Klimt, Rick Bartow, and Sonia Delaunay were a major influence for this body of work. I have been inspired by seeing their work in person, bringing with me this idea of the importance of making work. Each of these artists where highly prolific and were constantly experimenting with materials, concepts, and design principles. M. V. Moran earned her MFA in Visual Studies from Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, Oregon. Moran has a BFA in Painting from the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon. She currently works in Eugene, Oregon. Epcot or Working for the Mouse acrylic on canvas 36"x48" 2017 $895 Please contact the artist if you are interested in this work - mvmoran.artist@gmail.com PNCA
Portland, Oregon Unlimited Alumni Exhibition September 6, 2018 - September 26, 2018 Portland's First Thursday Art Walk and Reception Thursday, September 6, 2018 6 pm - 8 pm This year for the Pacific Northwest College of Art Alumni Show I am exhibiting the small charcoal drawing, the bee's knees. The drawing is one of the smallest drawings in the solo exhibition, peculiar, that was at City Hall this year. This particular piece is based on the old phrase, the bee's knees, which was popular back in the 1920s. The bee's knees meant excellent or better yet, the height of excellence. The phrase is old, but while I was drawing my skeleton, Reggie, and working on this drawing, I found Reggie to be one excellent model. As I finished the drawing, I told Reggie, "you are the bee's knees." And, it is true. It is one fine muse. The knees are belong to Reggie and the circular forms that float below and above symbolize the disconnection or separation from the skeleton, the flesh and spirit. When one dies, the disconnection is absolute. The skeleton and flesh remain and the spirit leaves, leaves for eternity. And, eternity with God is, indeed, the height of excellence. the bee's knees charcoal on paper on panel 12"x36" $250 contact the artist if interest in purchasing this particular piece |
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