Sam Moyer is an American artist who lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Corcoran College of Art and Design in 2005 and her Master of Fine Arts from Yale University in 2007.
Moyer’s first solo exhibition was in 2008 at Cleopatra’s Gallery in Brooklyn, and it included work that incorporated moving blankets stretched like paintings onto stretcher bars. Following a residency in Switzerland, Moyer’s focus shifted to “poetics in the found object,” and she began making book sculptures. This then transitioned into working with fabric distorted with dye and bleach as well as stone sourced from local marble yards and warehouses.
Moyer’s practice has evolved from its more conceptual and process-based origins to address formal and theoretical issues regarding the construct of painting. In all her production, issues of scale and space are critical, and Moyer is particularly interested in the way architecture functions in tandem with her objects to create dynamic visual experiences. Uniting found textures and object in innovative ways, Moyer manipulates them into beautifully abstract formal works that provoke a new, expanded artistic vocabulary.
Sam Moyer's first solo public art installation, Doors for Doris, commissioned by Public Art Fund, is on view at the entrance to Central Park on Doris C. Freedman Plaza through September 12, 2021. Her works are featured in prominent public collections, including the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; the Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven; the Morgan Library, New York; the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Louis Vuitton Foundation, Paris; The Aïshti Foundation, Beirut; and the Davis Museum, Wellesley College, Massachusetts. Moyer has exhibited her work at The Drawing Center, New York; The Bass Museum, Miami, FL; University of Albany Art Museum, New York; The Public Art Fund, New York; White Flag Projects and The Contemporary Art Museum, St. Louis, MO; LAND, Los Angeles; and Tensta Konsthall, Stockholm. Moyer has participated in important group exhibitions, including Inherent Structure, Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus, OH; Painting/Object, The FLAG Art Foundation, New York, NY; and Greater New York Between Spaces at PS1 Contemporary Art Center, Queens. In 2018 she was the subject of a large-scale solo presentation at Art Basel Unlimited.
Born 1983 in Chicago, IL. Lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.
EDUCATION
2007
M.F.A., Yale School of Art, New Haven, CT
2005
B.F.A., Corcoran College of Art and Design, Washington D.C.
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2021
Good Friend, Kayne Griffin, Los Angeles, CA
Sam Moyer: Tone, Sean Kelly, New York, NY
2019
Flowers, Kayne Griffin Corcoran, Los Angeles, CA
2018
Sam Moyer: Many Moons, Galerie Rodolphe Janssen, Brussels, Belgium
2017
WIDE WAKE, Sean Kelly, New York, NY
Brick Window, 56 Henry Gallery, New York, NY
MGM, JOAN Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
2016
Souper Moon, Evening Hours, New York, NY
2015
Slowly, Galerie Rodolphe Janssen, Brussels, Belgium
2014
More Weight, Rachel Uffner Gallery, New York, NY
2013
Sam Moyer, Galerie Rodolphe Janssen, Brussels, Belgium
2012
Slack Tide, Rachel Uffner Gallery, New York, NY
2011
Washed Up and Bleached Out, with Jess Fuller, Galerie Tom Christofferson, Copenhagen, Denmark
2010
Ghost Tide, Société, Berlin, Germany
Shapeshifters, Rachel Uffner Gallery, New York, NY
2009
In the Offing, Société, Berlin, Germany
2008
Night Moves, Cleopatra’s, Brooklyn, NY
SELECTED GROUP EXHBITIONS
2022
Shrubs, Night Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2021
Light Stone & String, Halsey McKay Gallery, East Hampton, New York, NY
Wire Frame, Virtual Exhibition, Hill Art Foundation, New York, NY
Shapes, Alexander Berggruen, New York, NY
2020
Sculpture, Kayne Griffin Corcoran, Los Angeles, CA
Painting, Kayne Griffin Corcoran, Los Angeles, CA
Sam Moyer & Eddie Martinez, Ratio 3, San Francisco, CA
100 Drawings from Now, The Drawing Center, New York, NY
Artist for New York, Hauser + Wirth, New York, NY
2019
Unterschiedswesen, Von Bartha, Basel, Switzerland
Glass Age, Helena Anrather, New York, NY
Hiato, SIM Galeria São Paulo, Brazil
Summer project at Knokke, Organized by Rodolphe Janssen, Cap Horn, Knokke-Heist, Belgium
2018
Adam McEwen Selects: Exhibition and Sale to Benefit the Foundation for Contemporary Arts, Gladstone, New York, NY
Davide Balula, Kendell Geers, Thomas Lerooy, Sam Moyer, Rodolphe Janssen, Brussels, Belgium
EDIFICE, COMPLEX, VISIONARY, STRUCTURE, Sean Kelly, NY
Inherent Structure, Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus, OH
Painting/Object: Sarah Crowner, N. Dash, Sam Moyer, Julia Rommel, Erin Shirreff, Flag Art Foundation, New York, NY
Relics: Nikita Gale, Tony Matelli, Sam Moyer, Ceysson & Bénétière, Paris, France
The Surface of The East Coast: Différance, Ceysson & Benetiere, New York, NY
2017
Crooked Bazaar, Proyectos Monclova, Mexico City, Mexico Drawing Island, The Journal Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
Drawing Island, The Journal Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
New Ruins, American University, Washington, D.C. Selected, Sean Kelly, New York, NY
Selected, Sean Kelly, New York, NY
2016
Gallery Artist Group Show, Rachel Uffner Gallery, New York, NY
Good Dreams, Bad Dreams - American Mythologies, Aïshti Foundation, Beirut, Lebanon
Puff Pieces, curated by Feelings, Rachel Uffner Gallery, New York, NY
2015
A Peg to Hang It On, White Flag Projects, Saint Louis, MI
ASSISTED, Kavi Gupta Gallery, Chicago, IL
Freedom Culture, The Journal Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
Object Painting – Painting Object, Jonathan Viner Gallery, London, UK
Space and Matter, Sperone Westwater, New York, NY
2014
Blackout, Galerie Rodolphe Janssen, Brussels, Belgium
De Generation of Painting, Fondazione 107, Torino, Italy
East Side to the West Side, Brennan & Griffin, James Fuentes, Rachel Uffner, FLAG Art Foundation, New York, NY
MAXIMALISM, Contemporary Fine Arts, Berlin, Germany
NEXT, Arsenal Contemporary Art Contemporain, Montreal, Canada
Painting Made Different: Fabian Marcaccio, Salina Art Center, Salina, KS
Reductive Minimalism: Women Artists in Dialogue 1960-2014, University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, MI
Sam Moyer and Eddie Martinez, sophiajacob, Baltimore, MD
tc: temporary contemporary, Bass Museum, Miami Beach, FL
The Last Brucennial, 837 Washington Street, New York, NY
Thread Lines, The Drawing Center, New York, NY
t,o,u,c,h,i,n,g, Robert Blumenthal Gallery, New York, NY
2013
abstract thinking - using a hammer and sea-staring is OK, OSL Contemporary, Oslo, Norway Contemporary Future, CAB Art Center, Brussels, Belgium
Culm, Night Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Double Hamburger Deluxe, Marlborough Gallery Chelsea, New York, NY
Equilibrium, Ritter/Zamet, London, UK
Garage Show, JTT and Rachel Uffner Gallery, New York, NY
Jew York, UNTITLED and Zach Feuer, New York, NY
Jürgen Drescher & Sam Moyer, Galerie Rodolphe Janssen, Brussels, Belgium
LAT. 41° 7’ N., LONG. 72° 19’ W, Martos Gallery, East Marion, NY
Midori Mambo Black Russian, Halsey McKay, East Hampton, NY
One From None, Autocenter Space For Contemporary Art, Berlin, Germany
Painting in Place, Los Angeles Nomadic Division, Farmers and Merchants Bank, Los Angeles, CA
Phantom Sun, Bugada & Cargnel, Paris, France
Static & Scrim, Cooper Cole Gallery, Toronto, Canada
Tactility, Nils Staerk, Copenhagen, Denmark
The Magnificent Obsession, Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Trento and Rovereto, Rovereto, Italy
Where Did She Go?, Stockholm Music & Arts Festival, Stockholm, Sweden
Work, Klaus von Nichtssagend Gallery, New York, NY
XSTRACTION, The Hole, New York, NY
2012
Dark Garnaal, Galerie Rodolphe Janssen, Summer Project, Villa Knokke, Knokke Heist, Belgium
Home Again, Again, The Journal Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
Interruption, Michael Kohn Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Material Occupation, University of Albany Art Museum, Albany, New York, NY
Portrait of a Generation, The Hole, New York, NY
Textility, Visual Arts Center of New Jersey, Summit, NJ
The Space in Between, Steven Zevitas Gallery, Boston, MA
2011
Back Room, Untitled, New York, NY
BNA: From Brooklyn to Nashville, ZieherSmith Pop-up Gallery, Nashville, TN
Domestic Goods, curated by Ryan Wallace, Eric Firestone Gallery, East Hampton, NY
Exhibition of work from the Permanent Collection, MAGA Museum, Gallarate, Italy
I don’t know if it makes any sense – I feel quite dizzy and a little drunk due to the blow, will return with more info shortly..., IMO, Copenhagen, Denmark
Indeterminate Activity, Nicelle Beauchene, New York, NY
Intersection of Commercial St, Franklin Ave and Dupont St, Brooklyn, NY
New Perspectives, Brand New Gallery, Milan, Italy
One Dozen Paintings, The Journal Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
Painting Expanded, Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York, NY
Street Trash, organized by James Campbell, Sadie Laska, and Virginia Overton, The Hole, New York, NY
The Idea of the Thing That It Isn’t, Halsey McKay, East Hampton, NY
2010
/(Lean), Nicole Klagsbrun Gallery, New York, NY
Big Apple, Clifton/Benevento Gallery, New York, NY
Greater New York, MoMA P.S.1, Queens, NY
Salad Days, The Journal Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
Skins, OHWOW, Miami, FL
Total Recall, Public Art Fund, MetroTech Center, Brooklyn, NY
Transfer Function, ZieherSmith Gallery, New York, NY
2009
Between Spaces, MoMA P.S.1, Queens, NY
Between the Lip and the Cup, V&A Gallery, New York, NY
Brooklyn Queens, The Hjotnal Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
Front Room Gallery, St. Louis Museum of Contemporary Art, St. Louis, MO
Gruppenausstellung, Auto Center, Berlin, Germany
If the Dogs are Barking, Artists Space, New York, NY
The Longest Train I Ever Saw, Rachel Uffner Gallery, New York, NY
2008
Bring Me Back a T-Shirt, V&A Gallery, New York, NY
Dark Fair, Picture Box Inc., Swiss Institute, New York, NY
Glass Houses, Werkstatte Gallery, New York, NY
Milwaukee International, ZieherSmith Gallery, Milwaukee, WI
This is Boston Not L.A., Lamontagne Gallery, Boston, MA
2007
Alumni Juried Exhibition, Recent Graduates: 2002–2006, Corcoran Museum, Washington, D.C.
Coercive Atmospherics, Dumbo Arts Center, Brooklyn, NY
Fractured in Aspect, Andrew Kreps Gallery, New York, NY
Inside/Outside, G.A.S.P., Boston, MA
Sculpture Thesis Exhibition, Yale Art Gallery, New Haven, CT
2006
Banal Aesthetics, Gotov Gallery, CSU Long Beach, CA
Notes From the Underground: What’s Up With Yale, Drake Hotel, Toronto, Canada
Under the Fort, Rhyz Gallery, Boston, MA
2005
Nocturnal Emissions, Curator’s Office, Washington, D.C.
Thesis Show, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
2004
Juried Undergraduate Sculpture Show, Cubicle 10, Baltimore, MD
Lovers and Thieves, NYSP, New York, NY
SELECTED PUBLIC ART COMMISSIONS
2020
Doors for Doris, Public Art Fund, Doris C. Freedman Plaza, Central Park, NY
2016
Fishers Hinge, The Light House Works, Fishers Island, NY
SELECTED COLLECTIONS
The Aïshti Foundation, Beirut, Lebanon
Espacio 1414 | The Berezdivin Collection, Puerto Rico
The Morgan Library & Museum, New York, NY
Louis Vuitton Foundation, Paris, France
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY
Pizzuti Collection, Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, OH
The FLAG Art Foundation, New York, NY