This summer RJD Gallery in Bridgehampton, New York, will present an exhibition featuring works on paper, including charcoal drawings and limited-edition prints. “The ancient Egyptians were the first to use paper, papyrus, around 3700 B.C., and it became particularly famous for its artistic opportunities,” says gallery principal Richard J. Demato. 

“RJD is fortunate to present diverse contemporary artworks on this essential medium, including Rachel Moseley’s limited-edition print collection. All are custom framed and display museum-quality and masterful use of archival ink and paper. There are only 10 editions of each, hand-signed and numbered, and exclusively offered at RJD, while they last,” Demato continues. “In addition, we now offer other unique artworks in this medium from our personal collection and by Tyler Vouros, Christina Pettersson, Jacques Moiroud and Jamie Wyeth.”Rachel Moseley, Fools Gold, hand-signed print, ed. of 10 and one artist proof, 10 x 8"

Rachel Moseley, Wet Dream, hand-signed print, ed. of 10 and one artist proof, 20 x 16"

Andrea Kowch’s most recently completed painting, Steadfast, was also made into 10 limited editions, with half of them already sold and the others available during this exhibition.

Vouros grew up in the woods and has always felt a kinship with the natural world. For the past 10 years, his work has revolved around our connection to flora and fauna, with raptors being his primary muse. Much of his work is based on animals he’s seen in taxidermy collections, but in more recent years it is derived from live birds of prey he’s seen at On the Wing in Epping, New Hampshire, which builds awareness of raptors through rehabilitation, educational programs and falconry. Tyler Vouros, Great Grey Owl, charcoal and water on mounted paper, 55 x 35"

Andrea Kowch, Steadfast, limited-edition hand-signed print, ed. of 10, 16 x 12"

Jamie Wyeth, Arnold Schwarzenegger, 1977, charcoal on cardboard, 45½ x 36"“Choosing my subject is likely similar to many other portrait artists; I’m looking for unique characteristics and aim to capture a measure of soul through representational drawing,” says Vouros. “Then comes the pairing—appropriating complementary historical pieces of landscape painting and bringing the bird into that space as a backdrop, but also to drive a narrative between the two; a visual conversation, reverberating the work of Old Masters through current aesthetics.”

Vouros, who works in charcoal, says the work is equally about image making and material. “I’ve been in love with creating tactile illusions with a push-pull method of charcoal since my first college drawing class,” he says. “It’s about the haptic feedback of dragging the material across the surface and then taking it away with various erasers—with the challenge of maintaining the luminosity of the paper. Having this conversation with the materials and subject—while likely listening to science fiction/fantasy genre audiobooks—allows me to escape into my own world for the uncalculated hours while working through a composition. I can get so lost in process that I’d probably waste away if I didn’t get reminders to take a break and eat from my wife.”

Moseley’s limited-edition prints are from some of her most recognized paintings that often silhouette a figure against a colorful background. The figures themselves are equally as colorful, having a life and personality all their own.

In 2014, Moseley moved from San Francisco to Las Vegas for her husband’s job and found it to be isolating and hard to make friends. “About six months after moving, I made friends with Rachel, the subject of Almost California, and she quickly became my muse. I photograph my models candidly, and Rachel had an effortless comfort and a natural ability in front of a camera,” says Moseley. “This day, it was spring and unusually cool and breezy for the desert when Rachel arrived un-showered, and comfortably stripped off all of her clothes while announcing that she hadn’t shaved in months. Her grungy/sexy/ effortless style and confidence reminded me of the Northern California beach town where I grew up, and the friendship and bond we had built finally made me feel like the desert was home. Almost California is a reference to almost feeling like home.”Jacques Moiroud, Himself, large lino block print on archival paper, 36 x 36"Christina Pettersson, The Hunting Ground, graphite on paper, 45 x 80"

Tyler Vouros, Guthrie (Barn Owl), charcoal and water on mounted paper, 42 x 68"

Over a period of three years Moseley painted Rachel and also captured her hairstyles that dramatically changed “no less than seven or eight times” over the course of the works. In Fools Gold Moseley depicts one of her many styles. “This bob was so unfitting to her personality, and I wanted to capture her as her ‘haircut personality.’ In this painting she is glamorous, a bit precocious and a little jaded, which isn’t really who she is at all,” Moseley shares. “People are very interested in this painting and in all of the paintingsI have done of Rachel, which I think is really a testament to what an incredible and versatile model she is.”

The works on paper exhibition is scheduled for July 2 through 29.

RJD Gallery
2385 Main Street • Bridgehampton, NY 11932 •
(631) 725-1161 • www.rjdgallery.com 

Powered by Froala Editor