Kenna Moser
Artist Statement
My studio is full of objects that inspire, and piles of old botanical books, dictionaries
and letters to be used in my work. I begin by gluing original vintage letters, envelopes and collage to a wood panel. This is followed by a signature layer of beeswax. I have been working with encaustic and beeswax for the past 20 years. The beeswax is applied hot, then smoothed and buffed. It provides a transparent and luminous surface for the oil painting.
The letters reference the written word. The script and paper are appealing to work upon. The writer’s stories have been lost. Perhaps I am creating their narrative. There is a bit of humor in the current pieces. Small images of people cut and collaged from books
combine with larger life size oil paintings of natural specimens.
I am inspired artists who work with their own visual language, passions and quirks. I believe that the path to the universal is through the personal, that you can only really paint what you know. My work is intertwined with my life. Images are gathered from trees, ferns and feathers found in the woods and stream behind my studio or gleaned from my garden.
KM 2011
Biography
1964 Born in Canada
Education
1988 Bachelor of Fine Arts, Honors, Queens University, Canada
Fellowships
2002 Resident Artist, Djerassi Resident Artists Program, Woodside, CA
1994 WESTAF/NEA Regional Fellowship for Painting, Western States Arts Federation, Santa Fe, NM
1992 Artist Fellowship, Painting, Arts Council of Santa Clara County, San Jose, CA
Solo Exhibitions
2011 Grover Thurston Gallery, Seattle, WA
Sue Greenwood Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA
2010 Sue Greenwood Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA
2009 Gail Severn Gallery, Ketchum, ID
Grover Thurston Gallery, Seattle, WA
Sue Greenwood Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA
2007 Grover Thurston Gallery, Seattle, WA
Sue Greenwood Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA
2006 Sue Greenwood Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA
2005 Grover Thurston Gallery, Seattle, WA
Gail Severn Gallery, Ketchum, ID
2004 Linda Hodges Gallery, Seattle, WA
Sue Greenwood Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA
Gallatin River Gallery, Big Sky, MT
2003 Gail Severn Gallery, Ketchum, ID
Sue Greenwood Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA
2002 Linda Hodges Gallery, Seattle, WA
2001 Susan Cummins Gallery, Mill Valley, CA
Gail Severn Gallery, Ketchum, ID
2000 Linda Hodges Gallery, Seattle, WA
Pulliam Deffenbaugh Gallery, Portland, OR
Gail Severn Gallery, Ketchum, ID
1999 Susan Cummins Gallery, Mill Valley, CA
Linda Hodges Gallery, Seattle, WA
1998 Pulliam Deffenbaugh Gallery, Portland, OR
1997 Susan Cummins Gallery, Mill Valley, CA
Linda Hodges Gallery, Seattle, WA
Carrie Secrist Gallery, Chicago IL
1996 Kittredge Gallery, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA
1708 Gallery, Richmond, VA
Pulliam Deffenbaugh Gallery, Portland, OR
1995 Susan Cummins Gallery, Mill Valley, CA
Linda Hodges Gallery, Seattle, WA
Amanda Obering Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Selected Group Exhibitions
2011 The Eloquent Flower, Gail Severn Gallery, Ketchum, ID
Los Angeles Art Show, Sue Greenwood Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA
San Francisco ArtMRKT, Sue Greenwood Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA
2010 Secret Drawings, Palo Alto Art Center, Palo Alto, CA
The Eloquent Flower, Gail Severn Gallery, Ketchum, ID
Sketchbook Drawings, Grover Thurston Gallery, Seattle, WA
San Francisco ArtMRKT, Sue Greenwood Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA
2009 Artists Eye, Gail Severn Gallery, Ketchum, ID
Flora and Fauna, Gail Severn Gallery, Ketchum, ID
Small Packages, Cumberland Gallery, Nashville, TN
2008 Flora and Fauna, Gail Severn Gallery, Ketchum, ID
2007 Five Painters, Stellar Somerset Gallery, Palo Alto, CA
The Eloquent Flower, Gail Severn Gallery, Ketchum, ID
Gallery Artists, Grover Thurston Gallery, Seattle, WA
2006 The First Illusion: The Transitional Object, Palo Alto Art Center, Palo Alto, CA
Interpretations: Jewelry by the Unexpected Artist, Pacini Lubel Gallery, Seattle, WA
The Eloquent Flower, Gail Severn Gallery, Ketchum, ID
Gallery Artists, Grover Thurston Gallery, Seattle, WA
California Dreamin’, di Rosa Preserve, Napa, CA
2005 Gallery Artists, Grover Thurston Gallery, Seattle, WA
Small Packages, Cumberland Gallery, Nashville, TN
The Eloquent Flower, Gail Severn Gallery, Ketchum, ID
San Francisco Artfair, Nathan Larramendy Gallery, Ojai, CA
2004 Mark My Word, Museum of Northwest Art, La Conner, WA
3-person exhibition, Nathan Larramendy Gallery, Ojai, CA
Introducing Collage, Hidell Brooks Gallery, Charlotte, NC
The Eloquent Flower, Gail Severn Gallery, Ketchum, ID
Festa Brazil, Palo Alto Cultural Center, Palo Alto, CA
2003 Cut, Copy, Paste: The Art of Contemporary Collage, deSaisset Museum, Santa Clara, CA
Theoretically Botanicals, Cumberland Gallery, Nashville, TN
The Eloquent Flower, Gail Severn Gallery, Ketchum, ID
Art 2003 Chicago, Carrie Secrist Gallery, Chicago IL
Art in Embassies, American Embassy, Brussels, Belgium
2002 Cabinets of Wonder, Palo Alto Cultural Center, Palo Alto, CA
Inaugural Exhibition, Sue Greenwood Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA
Plottings, Carrie Secrist Gallery, Chicago IL
The First Decade, Carrie Secrist Gallery, Chicago IL
Beeswax, Carrie Secrist Gallery, Chicago IL
Surface, Gail Severn Gallery, Ketchum, ID
Art 2002 Chicago, Carrie Secrist Gallery, Chicago IL
2001 Underfoot, traveling exhibition, US Consulate, San Paulo, Brazil
The Eloquent Flower, Gail Severn Gallery, Ketchum, ID
Operating Systems, Susan Cummins Gallery, Mill Valley, CA
Art 2001 Chicago, Carrie Secrist Gallery, Chicago IL
2000 The Great Novel Exhibition, Palo Alto Cultural Center, Palo Alto, CA
Group Exhibition, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
Winged Visions, Gallatin River Gallery, Big Sky, MT
New Work by Gallery Artists, Carrie Secrist Gallery, Chicago IL
Art 2000 Chicago, Carrie Secrist Gallery, Chicago IL
Anniversary Exhibition, Linda Hodges Gallery, Seattle, WA
The Game of Chance, traveling exhibition, Block Museum, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
1999 By Design: Art and Wine, Benziger Imagery Series, Palo Alto Cultural Center, Palo Alto, CA
Mt. Rainier Paintings, Kittredge Gallery, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA
Seeing Money, Portland, OR
Shadow of Memory, Susan Cummins Gallery, Mill Valley, CA
Group Exhibition, Gail Severn Gallery, Ketchum, ID
New Work by Gallery Artists, Carrie Secrist Gallery, Chicago, IL
Art 1999 Chicago, Carrie Secrist Gallery, Chicago IL
SOFA New York, Susan Cummins Gallery, New York, NY
The Game of Chance, traveling exhibition, Herron School of Art, Indianapolis, IL,
Fort Wayne Museum of Art, Fort Wayne, IN, Boulder Museum of Art, Boulder, CO
and Illinois State Museum, Springfield, IL
1998 Beyond the Lens, Mesa Fine Art, Miami, FL
A Common Thread, Gail Severn Gallery, Ketchum, ID
New Work: Gallery Artists, Gallery A, Chicago, IL
Residual Traces Resident Shadows, Soil Gallery, Seattle, WA
The Idea of the Sacred, Center for Arts and Religion, Washington, DC
Construct for Thought: Box Invitational, Palo Alto Cultural Center, Palo Alto, CA
The Written Word, Cumberland Gallery, Nashville TN
Art 1998 Chicago, Carrie Secrist Gallery, Chicago IL
The Game of Chance, traveling exhibition, Susan Cummins Gallery, Mill Valley, CA,
Palo Alto Cultural Center, Palo Alto, CA, Rockford College Art Gallery, Rockford, IL
and Santa Monica College Art Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
1997 Series, Series, Series, Rockford College Art Gallery, Rockford, IL
The Game of Chance, Printworks Gallery, Chicago, IL
The Garden Show, Portland Institute of Contemporary Art, Portland, OR
Beeswax, Soil Gallery, Seattle, WA
Anniversary Exhibition, Linda Hodges Gallery, Seattle, WA
Small Works, Susan Cummins Gallery, Mill Valley, CA
Small Packages, Cumberland Gallery, Nashville, TN
Art 1997 Chicago, Carrie Secrist Gallery, Chicago IL
1996 Small Wonders, San Francisco Folk and Craft Museum, San Francisco, CA
Drawings, Triton Museum of Art, Santa Clara, CA
The Tool Show, Portland Institute of Contemporary Art, Portland, OR
Maps, Charts and Routes, Irvine Fine Arts Center, Los Angeles, CA
Mute Offerings, Brand Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Fire and Light, Susan Cummins Gallery, Mill Valley, CA
The Eloquent Flower, Gail Severn Gallery, Ketchum, ID
Great Balls of Art, Palo Alto Cultural Center, Palo Alto, CA
Anniversary Exhibition, Linda Hodges Gallery, Seattle, WA
Small Packages, Cumberland Gallery, Nashville, TN
1995 The Permanent Collection: Recent Acquisitions, San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, CA
From the Land, Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma, WA
Concept in Form: Artists Sketchbooks & Maquettes, Palo Alto Cultural Center, CA
Twentieth Century Heroes, Susan Cummins Gallery, Mill Valley, CA
The Eloquent Flower, Gail Severn Gallery, Ketchum, ID
Small Packages, Cumberland Gallery, Nashville, TN
Frame of Reference, Palo Alto Cultural Center, CA
Gramercy Contemporary Art Fair, Amanda Obering Gallery, New York, NY
1994 In the Spirit of Nature, San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, CA
New to the Gallery, Susan Cummins Gallery, Mill Valley, CA
New Introductions, Gail Severn Gallery, Ketchum, ID
Salon Exhibition, Lee Arthur Fine Art, New York, NY
Exposure, Quo Quo Gallery, Hong Kong
Treading on Hallowed Ground, Guggenheim Gallery, Chapman University, Los Angeles, CA
Miniatures, SF MOMA Rental Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Between the Covers, Palo Alto Cultural Center, CA
1993 Icons in Contemporary Art, California Crafts Museum, San Francisco, CA
Icons, Objects, Fetishes, Studio Raid Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Radius 1993, Palo Alto Cultural Center, CA
Six Easy Pieces, Palo Alto Cultural Center, CA
In Reverence of Wood, University Art Gallery, California State University Hayward, CA
Crocker-Kingsley Annual, Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA
Miniature Exhibition, Bolinas Museum, Bolinas, CA
1992 Small Works: Jewels to Behold, Studio Raid Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Partnership: Cubberley Studio Artists, Palo Alto Cultural Center, CA
Mixed Bag, Palo Alto Cultural Center, CA
Small Works, Joan Roebuck Gallery, Lafayette, CA
1992 Artist Fellowship, Downtown Gallery, San Jose Art League, CA
Images, Visions and Voices, Seipp Gallery, Palo Alto, CA
1991 Assemblage Paintings, Wilder Gallery, Los Gatos, CA
Divergent Currents, Downtown Gallery, San Jose Art League, CA
1990 Dark Angels, Menlo Park Public Arts Commission, Menlo Park, CA
1989 BFA on View, Agnes Etherington Art Center, Kingston, Canada
1988 Soliloquy, BFA Thesis Exhibition, Queens University, Kingston, Canada
Selected Reviews
2010 ‘Art Values: four paintings of birds to add to your collection’ Southwest Art
2007 Rose, Joshua, ‘Kenna Moser: Garden Glories ’American Art Collector
2004 Wagonfeld, Judy, ‘French and Moser deftly weave together the real and unreal’ Seattle Post-Intelligencer
1998 Shannon, Joe, ‘Kenna Moser at Linda Hodges’ Art in America
Long, Andrew, ‘Kenna Moser at Pulliam Deffenbaugh’ Art and Antiques
Israel, Robyn, ‘Thinking Differently’ Palo Alto Weekly, CA
1997 Updike, Robin, ‘Intimate Collages of Letters, Art’ The Seattle Times, WA
1996 Josslin, Victoria, ‘Kenna Moser at Linda Hodges, Seattle’ Reflex, Seattle WA
Bullar, CeCe, ‘Two Views of Art, Nature in 1708 Show’ Richmond Times-Dispatch, VA
Werner, Jessica, ‘Giving Away All Their Secrets’ Palo Alto Weekly, CA
1994 Fitzsimons, Casey, ‘Subject and Source’ Artweek, San Jose, CA
Maclay, Catherine, ‘Natural Beauty’ San Jose Mercury News, CA
Sherman, Ann Elliott, ‘Natural Highs’ Metro, San Jose, CA
1993 Hayde, Monica, ‘Finding the Radius’ Palo Alto Weekly, CA
Tuchman, Laura, ‘Boxed In and Fired Up’ San Jose Mercury News, CA
Books and Catalogs
2005 Kuspit, Donald and Bob Nugent, Imagery: Art for Wine, Wine Appreciation Guild, San Francisco
2002 Plottings, Carrie Secrist Gallery, Chicago IL
2001 Underfoot, traveling exhibition, US Consulate, San Paulo, Brazil
2000 New American Paintings, Open Studios Press, Needham, NH
1996 Mayfield, Signe and Greg Bell, Kenna Moser: Botany, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA
New American Paintings, Open Studios Press, Needham, NH
Women Artists: 1997 Datebook, Cedco Publishing, San Rafael, CA
1995 Shields, Kathryn and Chris Bruce, WITHINSIGHT: Visual Territories of Thirty Artists, WESTAF/NEA
Mayfield, Signe, Concept in Form: Artists Sketchbooks & Maquettes, Palo Alto Cultural Center, CA
1994 Hoover, Diane and Signe Mayfield, In the Spirit of Nature, San Jose Museum of Art, CA
Commissions
Swedish Medical Center, Southeast Tower Project, Seattle WA
Benziger Winery: Imagery Series, Glen Ellen, CA
Wright Runstad and Company, Pigs on Parade, Seattle WA
Collections
San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, CA
Yellowstone Art Museum, Billings, MT
Seattle Arts Commission: Watermarks Project, Seattle, WA
Washington State Arts Commission: Pierce College, Tacoma WA
3M Corporation, Minneapolis MN
Bellevue Club, Bellevue WA
Benziger Winery, Glen Ellen CA
Gamblin Artists Colors, Portland OR
McCaw International, Seattle WA
Newcastle Golf Club, Bellevue WA
Northwest Building Corporation, Seattle WA
Saintsbury Winery, Napa CA
Seattle University Law School, Seattle WA
Swedish Medical Center, Seattle WA
Walker Richer Quinn, Seattle WA