“I want a calm, simple existence - and believe when I create work that is true to this idea, it brings me closer to obtaining my goal.”
Read MoreRobert Moreland begins with an extended exercise in planning and engineering that allows him a near meditative existence in the studio, designing and constructing four to six inch maquettes until he reaches a compositional conclusion worth realizing on a larger scale. Having an appreciation for historically romantic practices and materials, He begins a process of hand-stretching canvas using tacks. This is an older method that (even if the tacks are mostly unseen) is important. He believes that the meticulous effort that goes into each piece becomes evident in the overall feeling and reception of a completed work. Then, keeping in mind my strong desire for less, he combines materials in a manner that seeks aesthetic synthesis while allowing their inherent characteristics to remain intact. Once this part is complete, then only the most essential elements are added. Using wood, canvas, tacks, paint and leather, he creates a finished sculpture meant to ground itself in its environment. The finished works do not produce distractions, but instead exist as dynamic objects of focus.
Robert Moreland is minimalist sculptor/painter living and working in Los Angeles, California. Hailing from South Louisiana. He is a 2016 Rema Hort Mann Foundation Grant Nominee and his work is a part of the Frederick R. Weisman Collection. He has been exhibited at The Hole, NYC, Louisiana State Museum, LA, the Shaw Center for the Arts, LA, and the Contemporary Art Center, New Orleans. After several years of living and working in New Orleans, Robert ventured west to Los Angeles and now spends his days in his studio in Chinatown.
