Jeremy Moon Out of Nowhere

15 July - 17 September 2016

At PEER and Large Glass

Out of Nowhere features the work of British abstract painter Jeremy Moon (b.1934–1973). Amongst the first artists in Britain to interrogate the use of the shaped canvas, Moon was a significant figure in the 1960s London art scene, known for his playful use of colour and pattern while adhering to a practice that was rigorously non-representational. A mainstay of the exhibition programme at the Rowan Gallery his contemporaries included Bernard Cohen, John Hoyland and Phillip King.

For this exhibition artist Neil Clements (b. 1982) has drawn on his long-standing interest in Moon’s practice to select a number of paintings and a wide range of drawings and archival material for presentation across PEER and Large Glass. This project has emerged as a result of a discussion of the role an artist can play in advocating the work of another artist, and the dynamics of such an interaction. It is accompanied by a short text by Clements.

On display at PEER are a number of recently restored paintings by Moon, Shadows (1965), Out of Nowhere (1965), English Rose (1967) and No 3/73 (1973), as well as a sculpture by Clements – a ‘didactic’ structure that doubles as a projection screen. This will show digitally reconstructed versions of every painting Moon completed between 1964 and 1968. The presentation at Large Glass will concentrate on Moon’s works on paper, including a selection of finished drawings, rough sketches as well as preparatory material drawn from the archive held by his estate. These offer a number of insights into his working methods, but also serve to more closely situate his practice in the milieu in which he lived. Moon drew incessantly, and these studies were key in the process of developing his ideas.

Jeremy Moon was born in Altrincham, Cheshire. Following National Service, and having read law at Cambridge University, he worked briefly in advertising before devoting himself fully to painting in 1961. His work featured in many international exhibitions of British art during the 1960s, including London: the New Scene, which opened at the Walker Art Gallery, Minneapolis in 1965. Following his death a major touring retrospective was organised by the Arts Council of Great Britain in 1976, starting at the Serpentine Gallery, London before travelling to Cambridge, Birmingham, Manchester and Belfast. Moon’s paintings are held in the collections of the Tate, London, the Museum of Modern Art, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and the Albright Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, USA, amongst others. His work is included in the current group exhibition Shapeshifters at Luhring Augustine Gallery, New York.  

Born in Belfast, Neil Clements lives and works in Glasgow. He is a lecturer at the Edinburgh College of Art and is currently completing a PhD analysing 1960s British Abstract Art. His work has been shown widely including at Ludwig Forum, Aachen, Tramway, Glasgow, CCA Derry-Londonderry, The Suburban, Oak Park, IL, and The Woodmill, London.

Large Glass, founded in 2011, is a commercial gallery. Guided by the spirit of Marcel Duchamp, it aims to show contemporary art through a particular and uncommon lens, presenting individually conceived and curated exhibitions on a diversity of themes. Shows have included Coyote, photographs and video of a performance by Joseph Beuys; Edge of the Seat, the chair in sculpture, introduced by Ali Smith; Indeterminacy, a homage to John Cage; Don’t Forget, artists’ ephemera assembled by Arnaud Desjardin; Suchness, a collaboration between Helen Mirra and Allyson Strafella and an exhibition devoted to beauty which included commissioned writing by Colm Tóibín. 

Neil Clements, PEER and Large Glass would like to thank the Estate of Jeremy Moon, and in particular Robert Moon for their generous assistance with the project.

EXCLUSIVE: Neil Clements has produced a striking new edition, 1967, available from just £50 to support PEER's programme in 2017.

Also see Jeremy Moon - A Retrospective and Jeremy Moon: 1969 grid paintings are available to buy from our online shop here.

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