For his debut solo show ‘The Grand Finale’ with Maddox Gallery Gstaad, the Munich-born artist Moritz Moll showcases his narrative-driven works and reveals a new genre of portrait painting.
Inspired by experiences and memories from childhood, each work is steeped in nostalgia. Stories unfold upon the canvas, with the artist’s sensitive portrayal of his subjects creating isolated moments of calm and intimacy. Working in oils and spray paint, the people depicted in Moll’s paintings move like sleepwalkers through an anonymous space, their gazes giving the viewer a glimpse into an innerworld.
A competent skier from a very young age, the skis in his paintings belonged to his mother, who first encouraged him onto the slopes aged just three. For ‘The Grand Finale’ Moll styles the subjects seen in his paintings, and like David Hockney, they are friends and family. This preparatory part of his practice is very precious to him.
“There is something very meditative about Moritz’s style of painting,” says Maeve Doyle, Artistic Director of Maddox. “Through these intimate portraits, there is a sense that we are witnessing both a burst of youth and a reminiscence of things past ”