wayside expressions

Painting

Vignette: Barbara Tyson Mosley

"Awakening - Rise and Embrace the Morning" by Barbara Tyson Mosley, 24x48in, acrylic on canvas (2017), $1500 | BUY NOW

"Awakening - Rise and Embrace the Morning" by Barbara Tyson Mosley, 24x48in, acrylic on canvas (2017), $1500 | BUY NOW

Barbara Tyson Mosley in her studio.

Barbara Tyson Mosley in her studio.

We have observed that quite often fiber artists work like painters, but Barbara Tyler Mosley is a painter whose work might put you in mind of some fiber artists. Of course, the comparison assumes the intuitive manipulation of plastic medium is, while not unique to the act of painting, at least a defining characteristic. Mosley’s mark-making application is both organic and highly structured.

Her abstract landscapes are vibrant with color. “These works harmoniously emphasize the relationship between earth, sea, and sky,” it states in Mosley’s Artist’s Statement. “As she quickly works on canvas manipulating the paint to reflect light and color changes, the viewer’s eye sees a playground of color and movement as she expands the scale of color and line.”

 In the tightly constructed layers of that color and line we can see the echo of the hand stitching of a textile artist, allowing repetition of the mark to create visual texture in the manner of thread stitched through fabric. This repetition carries through the strict, 12” x 12” dimensions of the individual paintings in the series, so that a perspective from a distance puts us in mind of quilt construction.

"Moonlight is Yellow" by Barbara Tyson Mosley, 12x12in, acrylic on canvas (2016), $500 | BUY NOW

"Moonlight is Yellow" by Barbara Tyson Mosley, 12x12in, acrylic on canvas (2016), $500 | BUY NOW

But Mosley is still, determinedly, a painter, boasting a highly developed point-of-view on the integration of representational and abstract.

Mosley’s current exhibit, "12 x 12 Plus" will be at KORE Gallery at the Mellwood Art Center in Louisville through February 28, 2017. She will then be showing more of the 12 x 12 paintings at the New Edition Gallery in Lexington, KY through the month of March. This fall, she will be exhibiting with Tomisha Allen in September and October of 2017 at the Wayside Expressions Gallery, Louisville, KY.

"Evening Calm" by Barbara Tyson Mosley, 12x12in, acrylic on canvas (2016), $500 | BUY NOW

"Evening Calm" by Barbara Tyson Mosley, 12x12in, acrylic on canvas (2016), $500 | BUY NOW

Permanent Collections:
PNC Bank Tower, Contemporary Ethnic Dolls, Pittsburgh, PA
Heritage Art Center Gallery, Lexington, KY
The University of Virginia Medical Center, Charlottesville, VA
The Corcoran Gallery of Art (Evans-Tibbs Collection), Washington, DC
The Fine Arts Institute, San Bernardino Museum of Art, Redlands, CA
The International Multicultural Fine Arts Exchange Foundation, Washington, DC

Hometown: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Education: BA, Studio Art, Painting, University of the District of Columbia, Washington, DC, 1985; MA in Liberal Studies Degree (Humanities; 20th Century Art History) Georgetown University, Washington, DC, 1990; MFA Candidate, Design George Washington University, Washington, DC, 2002-2004

"In the Night" by Barbara Tyson Mosley, 12x12in, acrylic on canvas (2016), $500 | BUY NOW

"In the Night" by Barbara Tyson Mosley, 12x12in, acrylic on canvas (2016), $500 | BUY NOW

"Morning Coffee and Caramel Tea" by Barbara Tyson Mosley, 24x36in, acrylic on canvas (2014), $650 | BUY NOW

"Morning Coffee and Caramel Tea" by Barbara Tyson Mosley, 24x36in, acrylic on canvas (2014), $650 | BUY NOW

"The 13th of Friday" by Barbara Tyson Mosley, 36x48in, acrylic on canvas (2013), $2500 | BUY NOW

"The 13th of Friday" by Barbara Tyson Mosley, 36x48in, acrylic on canvas (2013), $2500 | BUY NOW

Written by Keith Waits. Entire contents copyright © 2016 Louisville Visual Art. All rights reserved.

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Painting

Vignette: Barry Motes

"Annunciation" by Barry Motes, 30x40in, Oil on canvas, $1700 | BUY NOW

"Annunciation" by Barry Motes, 30x40in, Oil on canvas, $1700 | BUY NOW

Barry Motes his studio.

Barry Motes his studio.

In his best work, painter Barry Motes creates enigmatic tableau of surrealist scenes that seek to explain some aspect of human existence. Often there are suggestions of supernatural elements in the inscrutable narratives, and, in the titles, the artist solves whatever mystery the viewer may be experiencing: Motes is unabashedly a person of faith. 

When one views Water & Spirit with no understanding of the source in biblical text (Acts 8:38) what conclusions would be drawn? How important is the race of the human figure in the bathtub? That his head has been opened and filled with water seems an ominous and disturbing image, as will most deconstruction of the body in art; but what are we to make of the bird in the small opening that could hardly be called a window. Yet the surreal anxiety is leavened by Motes’ deliberate choices in color and the serene expression of the man. 

The use of parable in religious storytelling follows a long tradition, but Motes marries the morality to unorthodox juxtapositions of object and setting. He is also unafraid to inject nuance into the message, so that the ghostly image of the iconic Venus di Milo statue seen through the door of a strip club provocatively questions the viewer’s easiest assumptions. Although Motes explicitly uses his art to express Christian themes, he does not relinquish the artist’s less sacred but no less important mission to encourage, or even demand that the viewer be an active participant in the process by actively thinking. Such an exchange between artist and audience is the final link in the chain of insight and understanding that is the imperative value of art to any society.

"Water & Spirit"  by Barry Motes, 24x30in, oil on canvas, $900 | BUY NOW

"Water & Spirit"  by Barry Motes, 24x30in, oil on canvas, $900 | BUY NOW

Motes was born in San Diego, California and grew up in Xenia, Ohio. He is a Professor of Art at Jefferson Community & Technical College in Louisville, Kentucky and resides in Prospect, Kentucky with his wife, Carla. Their two sons, Zach and Griff, are graduates of the University of Kentucky and both live in Lexington, KY.

If you wish to see Motes’ work first hand, his solo exhibit Sacred Stories, Wayside Expressions Gallery, Louisville, KY, continues through November 27, 2016. He will also have work in two upcoming solo shows at the Harvill Gallery, Customs House Museum in Clarksville, TN. December 1, 2016 -January1, 2017, and at Lindsey Wilson College in Columbia, KY January 18-February 24, 2017. His work will also be included in 58th Mid-States Art Exhibition, Evansville Museum in Evansville, IN, December 10, 2016 -March 5 2017

Hometown: San Diego, California
Educational: MFA in Painting/Drawing, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TNB.A. & MA degrees in Art, Morehead State University
Website: http://www.jbmotesart.com

"Supper at Yummaus" by Barry Motes, 36x48in, oil on canvas, $2400 | BUY NOW

"Supper at Yummaus" by Barry Motes, 36x48in, oil on canvas, $2400 | BUY NOW

"Midnight in the Garden" by Barry Motes,, 36x48in, oil on canvas, $2400 | BUY NOW

"Midnight in the Garden" by Barry Motes,, 36x48in, oil on canvas, $2400 | BUY NOW

"Sibling Rivalry (Cain & Abel)" by Barry Motes, 30x40in, oil on canvas, $1700 | BUY NOW

"Sibling Rivalry (Cain & Abel)" by Barry Motes, 30x40in, oil on canvas, $1700 | BUY NOW

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Written by Keith Waits. Entire contents copyright © 2016 Louisville Visual Art. All rights reserved.

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