Matthew Moore grew up in Waddell, Arizona, on his family's farm that's been around since the 1920s.
Much of the local artist's work is influenced by the landscape he remembered from growing up and the changes to that landscape since his family began losing the land to development.
Moore documents the transformation as well as the importance of the land and sustainability issues involved through video, installation, and earthworks.
His latest site-specific, project-based exhibition, "And the Land Grew Quiet," will be on display at the Phoenix Art Museum through June 10. In this week's issue of New Times, contributor Sativa Peterson writes:
Moore and the museum began talking about the exhibition back in 2009, says Sara Cochran, curator of modern and contemporary art, and the conversation continued over the next two years as a vision for the show became realized. It's very exciting for the museum to cultivate this kind of show, she says, because the curatorial staff didn't see the finished pieces -- built to spec -- until they were installed in the museum, and fine-tuning took place right up until the opening.Read the full review here.It speaks to the museum's confidence in Moore as an artist. It took a risk that paid off. This is an important show.
