'California Cool' by Ed Moses

About

The exhibition will feature new and unseen works by the legendary late artist. As a central figure in the LA art scene, and where he was based until his death, Moses is thought to be one of the most experimental and prolific painters to have come out of the West Coast following the Post-War years. 

​​Born in Long Beach, California, Moses (1926 - 2018) has been celebrated for his vast and eclectic body of work which engages with the varying possibilities of abstraction. Moses was among the first generation of artists to be shown at Los Angeles’ Ferus Gallery in 1957. It was here that he started the ‘Cool School’ of artists which included Ed Ruscha, Robert Irwin, Larry Bell, Edward Kienholz, John Altoon, Ken Price and Billy Al Bengston. 

California Cool includes 19 new works, showcasing Moses’ signature style of wide, impactful brushstrokes and evocative gridwork. His style presents his personalized West Coast aesthetic and his expansion on the endless possibilities of abstraction. Showcasing paintings made until just two weeks before Moses’ death at age 91, California Cool gives us a glimpse into Moses’ mature period that will be regarded as his final oeuvre. 

The title California Cool is inspired by Ed Moses’s involvement in the ‘Cool School’ in Los Angeles from the 1950s to 1960s. The group was amongst the first generation of artists experimenting with techniques of Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art. After having spent most of his life and establishing his career in California, Moses remained consistent with his ‘Cool School’ roots. This body of work emits a perfect, dreamlike state, that reflects upon his life and influence on his Pacific West Coast life, and demonstrates his 'in tune' nature. This ultimately gave him his unique ability to find the balance between chaos and control on the canvas, which results in a form of freedom in his artistic expression.

Our first Ed Moses solo exhibition Whiplines, Waterfalls and Worms opened in the height of the coronavirus pandemic in February 2021 and was not only a huge success online, but a refreshing respite from the challenges at that time. We now look forward to an even greater solo exhibition in 2022 as we get to share it in person. California Cool will be on view across the main floor of the gallery, showcasing his late body of works and displaying his compositions filled with abstract, allover patterns, colour fields, and hard geometric shapes. Through these paintings we get to see Moses’ relentless experimentation with form and his underlying role as a ‘mutator’ in the field of abstract art. 

A self described explorer, Moses was always on the hunt to try new things and was never looking to follow a distinct framework or style of production. The significance of his work comes from his willingness to experiment, and his natural instinct when it came to the act of mark making. This facilitated the abstract techniques which he explored to create feelings of chaos while simultaneously demonstrating his control and unique ability of finding balance on the canvas. Moses was always willing to push the boundaries of what paint and abstraction can and could do, and we can see that in these later productions. His works have ultimately secured him in his role as a distinct figure in the abstract art scene over the last half century. 

Moses’ work has been exhibited worldwide with major retrospectives in MOCA Los Angeles in 1996 and The University of California Irvine in 2014. Other prominent collections include, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Hammer Museum, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Whitney Museum of American Art, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and The Museum of Modern Art, New York.