Cobi Moules
Untitled (Ship Harbor)
2020

Name: Untitled (Ship Harbor)
Brand: Cobi Moules
Price: 5500 USD
Availability: InStock

About the Item

Winter landscape painting by Cobi Moules - Oil on canvas Exhibition History: "New England Now: People," Shelburne Museum, Vermont (June 26 - October 17, 2021) Driven by the desire for adventure and discovery, Cobi Moules embraces the beauty of nature all the while shifting its weight through the exaltation of his own existence within, and as part, of it. This is best exemplified by the way he incorporates multiple self-portraits throughout his compositions. The multiplicity of self takes both precedence over, as well as integration into, the landscape creating a world with a sense of excitement, self-worth and play. The locations of Moules’ compositions are equally important. All of the locations were previously depicted in paintings by the Hudson River School. Through the exploration of the grand American landscape and the reflection on mid-19th century American landscape painting, Moules navigates the parallels between the Hudson River School and the religious ideology that was an integral part of his formative years. Shared throughout both is the elevation of purity, virginity and the honor of sacrificing one’s selfhood for the glory of God. As the Hudson River School artists’ work embodies the overpowering force of God made manifest through nature, so do the religious voices of Moules’ past against the validation of his existence. Moules states, “As a queer and trans person, I seek to renegotiate my relationship with this upbringing and the act of being told I am ‘unnatural’ through such a Christian lens. I utilize traditional representation as a way of seeking inclusion while disrupting the original narrative. Creating a space for personal significance and a queer and trans presence, the importance becomes the experience of my multiple and overall presence. It is a community of me playing, exploring my selves, exploring nature and being part of it.” Landscape, nature, figurative painting, self portrait, portrait, seascape, coastline, seashore, Hudson River School, contemporary art, Ship Harbor, Maine, pride, pride month, LGBTQ

Creator:

Cobi Moules (1980, American)

Creation Year:

2020

Dimensions:

Height: 13 in (33.02 cm)Width: 20 in (50.8 cm)

Medium:

Canvas,Oil

Movement & Style:

Contemporary

Period:

2010-

Condition:

Gallery Location:

East Quogue, NY

Reference Number:

1stDibs: LU141726857742

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Cobi Moules

Based in New York, painter Cobi Moules creates work that engages with queer and transgender identity, relationships, pop culture and the complexities of family. Moules’s self-portraits, both realistic and imagined, express a signature style consisting of multiple copies of himself, often painted over 19th-century American landscapes. Moules chooses these locations intentionally for their connections to “America’s first true artistic fraternity” — the Hudson River School.

Moules was born in 1980 in Oakdale, California, and his early memories include painting on his grandmother’s porch, struggling with the process and his mistakes. Despite his frustration, Moules found himself returning to art again and again.

In 2004, Moules graduated from San Jose State University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, and in 2010, he received a Master of Fine Arts from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University. Moules was an artist-in-residence at six different organizations, earning fellowships from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in 2008 and the Joan Mitchell MFA Grant in 2010. After graduation, Moules earned the Vermont Studio Center Fellowship and the Ruth and Harold Chenven Foundation Grant.

Two of his projects are named after modified lyrics from a famous Cyndi Lauper song: "Bois Just Want To Have Fun" and "That’s All They Really Want." They vibrantly examine the visual renegotiation of personal image.

Moules’s work has been exhibited widely across the United States, including at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, the Jepson Center in Georgia, the Ogunquit Museum of American Art in Maine and Smack Mellon in New York. The Leslie Lohman Museum, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, the RISD Museum and the 21c Museum have all acquired his work.

Moules’s work, which challenges the conventions of American art and its landscape painting traditions, continues to capture the attention of critics and collectors.

On 1stDibs, find a collection of Cobi Moules paintings.