Donald Moffett Explained

Donald Moffett (born January 20, 1955) is an American painter.

Life and work

Moffett was born in San Antonio, Texas, where he studied art and biology at Trinity University, earning a BA.^[1] He lives and works in New York City.

As a painter, Moffett extends the traditional two-dimensional frame through non-traditional techniques such as prying open the canvas to paint the backside, perforating or suturing the painting's surface, or loading it with paint forced into extreme textures. At other times, he transposes paintings into screens by incorporating video projections onto the canvas.^{[2] [3] [4] [5]}

The subject matter of his paintings—from landscape and nature to politics and history—are poetic, provocative, and at times humorous.^{[6] [7]} Moffett is recognized for his keen artistic critique of the world at large. His influence by classical painters such as Goya and Manet is manifest in his blending of the subtle with the outlandish and structural experimentation with social critique. While his artwork provides contemporary views on important topics of our modern-day lives, it is also a meditation on the timeless and universal issues of love, loss, alienation, and death.^{[8] [9]}

Moffett is a founding member of Gran Fury, the artistic arm of the AIDS activist group ACT UP.^{[10] [11]} On May 20, 2011, Gran Fury received an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from Massachusetts College of Art and Design.^[12]

Moffett is represented by Marianne Boesky Gallery in New York,^[13] and Anthony Meier Fine Arts in San Francisco.^[14]

Selected catalogues and publications

• Strange Ways: Here We Come. Donald Moffett & Felix Gonzalez Torres. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Fine Arts Gallery (1990).
• The Inward Eye: Transcendence in Contemporary Art. Houston: Contemporary Arts Museum (2002).^[15]
• Donald Moffett: What Barbara Jordan Wore. Chicago: Museum of Contemporary Art (2002).^[16]
• Image Stream. Columbus, OH: Wexner Center for the Arts, The Ohio State University (2003).^[17]
• Festschrift: Selections from a Collection. Hartford, CT: Leo Press (2008).
• The Judith Rothschild Foundation Catalogue Raisonné. New York: The Museum of Modern Art (2009).^[18]
• Everywhere. Sexual Diversity Policies in Art. Santiago de Compostela, Spain: Centro Galego de Arte Contemporánea (2009).
• Donald Moffett: The Extravagant Vein. Houston: Contemporary Arts Museum (2011).^[19]
• Donald Moffett: The Radiant Future, Exhibition Catalogue. Columbus, OH: Columbus College of Art and Design (2012).^[20]

Exhibitions

• 2011-2012: The Extravagant Vein, mid-career survey exhibition, traveled to Contemporary Arts Museum Houston;^[21] Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery, Skidmore College (Saratoga Springs, NY);^{[22] [23]} and Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, PA.^[24]
• 2002: Donald Moffett: What Barbara Jordan Wore, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago^[25]

Writings and interviews

• Moffett, Donald. “Sex with Sheila Hicks.” Art in America, Nov. 30, 2012.^[26]
• Dunkerley Dialogue: Donald Moffett with Mason Stokes. Tang Museum, 2012.^[27]
• Donald Moffett on This Will Have Been: Art, Love & Politics in the 1980s. Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, March 21, 2012.^[28]
• "Troy Schulze Chats with Donald Moffett." NPR, Nov. 28, 2011.^[29]

Permanent collections

• Whitney Museum of American Art, New York;^[30]
• Museum of Modern Art, New York;^{[31] [32]}
• Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles

^[33]

• Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

^[34]

• Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN;^[35]
• Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago

^[36]

• Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.^[37]
• Blanton Museum of Art, Austin^[38]

External links

• Donald Moffett at Marianne Boesky Gallery
• Donald Moffett at Anthony Meier Fine Arts

Notes and References

1. http://www.artslant.com/ny/articles/show/28427 “Donald Moffett: On Our New York Watchlist,”
2. Smith, Roberta (June 29, 2012). "Art Review: Like Watching Paint Thrive." The New York Times. Retrieved Dec. 14, 2012.
3. Rosenberg, Karen (Oct. 30, 2008). “Art in Review: Donald Moffett/Yuichi Higashionna.” The New York Times. Retrieved Dec. 14, 2012.
4. Fox, Dan (Oct. 2007). “Donald Moffett.” Frieze, p. 288. Retrieved Dec. 14, 2012.
5. Panetta, Jane (July 16, 2012). “Donald Moffett.” Art in America. Retrieved Dec. 14, 2012.
6. Smith, Roberta (May 6, 2010). “Lucio Fontana, Robert Beck and Donald Moffett.” The New York Times. Retrieved Dec. 14, 2012.
7. Richer, Francesca and Matthew Rosenzweig, eds. No. 1: First Works by 362 Artists. New York: Distributed Art Publishers (2005).
8. Wasserman, Nadine (Aug. 8, 2012). “Activist and Painter Donald Moffett's Boundary-Defying Work Intrigues at The Warhol.” Pittsburgh City Paper. Retrieved Dec. 14, 2012.
9. Smith, Roberta (Nov. 4, 2005). “Art in Review: Donald Moffett.” The New York Times. Retrieved Dec. 14, 2012.
10. Cotter, Holland (Oct. 15, 2010). “ACT UP New York.” The New York Times. Retrieved Dec. 14, 2012.
11. Cotter, Holland (Nov. 18, 2010). Marlene McCarty: I’m Into You Now.” The New York Times. Retrieved Dec. 14, 2012.
12. http://www.massart.edu/About_MassArt/News/Commencement_2011.html “Gran Fury Art Collective to be Honored with Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts,”
13. http://www.marianneboeskygallery.com/artists/donald-moffett Donald Moffett
14. http://www.anthonymeierfinearts.com/artists/donald-moffett Donald Moffett
15. Web site: The Inward Eye: Transcendence in Contemporary Art | Contemporary Arts Museum Houston . 2012-12-15 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304001255/http://camh.org/archive-publications/publications/inward-eye-transcendence-contemporary-art/ . 2016-03-04 . dead. mdy-all.
16. Web site: MCA Chicago Store.
17. Web site: Image Stream . 2012-12-15 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120601010735/http://store.wexarts.org/books/wexner-center-publications/image-stream.html . 2012-06-01 . dead. mdy-all.
18. http://www.momastore.org/museum/moma/ProductDisplay_The%20Judith%20Rothschild%20Foundation%20Contemporary%20Drawings%20Collection%20Catalogue%20Raisonne%20%28HC%29_10451_10001_58041_-1_11523_25161_58042/ Products. Judith Rothschild Foundation. Contemporary Drawings Collection
19. http://www.rizzoliusa.com/book.php?isbn=9780847837274/Rizzoli USA
20. Web site: The Radiant Future Exhibition Catalog. Issuu.
21. http://www.camh.org/exhibitions/donald-moffett-brthe-extravagant-vein/ Donald Moffett: The Extravagant Vein
22. http://tang.skidmore.edu/index.php/posts/view/396 Donald Moffett: The Extravagant Vein
23. Griffin, Amy (March 21, 2012). “Art Review: Donald Moffett: The Extravagant Vein.” Albany Times-Union. Retrieved Dec. 14, 2012.
24. http://www.warhol.org/webcalendar/event.aspx?id=6353 Donald Moffett: The Extravagant Vein
25. Web site: Donald Moffett: What Barbara Jordan Wore. MCA. en. 2019-04-24.
26. Web site: Sex with Sheila Hicks - Features - Art in America . 2013-01-09 . 2013-01-18 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130118040417/http://www.artinamericamagazine.com/features/sex-with-sheila-hicks/ . dead. mdy-all.
27. Web site: Donald Moffett The Extravagant Vein. Tang Teaching Museum.
28. Web site: Donald Moffett on This Will Have Been: Art, Love & Politics in the 1980s. www.youtube.com.
29. http://www.thefrontrow.org/articles/1322605486-Contemporary-Arts-Museum-Houston---Donald-Moffett.html The Front Row.
30. https://archive.today/20130416032415/http://whitney.org/Collection/AllArtists?artists_page=20/ Collection
31. http://www.moma.org/collection/browse_results.php?criteria=O%3AAD%3AE%3A7435%7CA%3AAR%3AE%3A1&page_number=&template_id=6&sort_order=1 The Collection: Donald Moffett
32. Valdez, Sarah (Nov. 16, 2010). “Act Up New York.” Art in America. Retrieved Dec. 14, 2012.
33. http://www.moca.org/museum/pc_artwork_detail.php?acsnum=2004.179&keywords=moffett&x=0&y=0&/ Permanent Collection: Donald Moffett
34. http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/facts-which-if-true-joe-mccarthy-35402/ Collections: Facts, Which If True (Joe McCarthy)
35. https://archive.today/20130416080853/http://collections.walkerart.org/item/object/11825/ Collections: Donald Moffett
36. https://archive.today/20130415102540/http://www.mcachicago.org/exhibitions/past/2007/13/ The Fluidity of Time: Selections from the MCA Collection
37. http://themodern.org/podcast/Donald%20Moffett/ Donald Moffett
38. Web site: Blanton Museum of Art: The University of Texas at Austin . 2015-07-17 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150719015121/http://blantonmuseum.org/exhibitions/details/donald_moffett . 2015-07-19 . dead .