Sam Moyer

A blaze of Autumnal light made a slow stroll across Sam Moyer's studio wall as the day came to an end. Cut by the brick arches that divide her space and the windows' segmented glass, the light fit on the wall as methodically as the clean marble and deeply saturated pieces of fabric fit together in her compositions. She has been in this space for a year now, and with a street loading dock and plenty of walls for hanging and leaning found pieces of marble, it couldn’t be more perfect for her practice. Nicky Morano, her studio assistant, let me to get a jump start on the day before Sam arrived. Nicky was like the straight man for their comedy duo. I was secretly forced to put down my pencil on more than one occasion in laughter as I listened to Sam bounce jokes off of him.

The cold marble in Moyer’s new pieces hovers just outside the parameters of their trippy configurations, forcing the viewer to give extra attention to the details of the artist's decision making. Maybe I have been watching too many old Twilight Zones this October, but there is something surreal and fourth dimensional about them. The reflective qualities of the metamorphic rock create natural portals as they pick up the light in the room, while the thick, rough, durable canvases suck you into their manmade void. In other works in progress, large panes of glass leaned against her studio wall, holding captive the painted black gestures smashed in-between them. While further down the wall, brightly colored, sparkle flecked cuts of found formica jutted up against one another to make bold gestures that remixed the scenes from a 50’s diner. Moyer and I talked about how, when putting these together, it felt more immediate to her than her other work, like making a painting.

We talked about the dreaminess of California, LA's art scene, and our favorite chili recipes over lunch  — obviously dealing with pre-winter jitters. The humor and luminosity that spilled over in the studio made it a place in which I would love to spend more time. Catch her work in Miami this year with Rachel Uffner at NADA and with Rodolphe Janssen at Basel Miami December 3-6th. To see more go to http://www.racheluffnergallery.com/artists/sam-moyer .