Alexander Gray Associates
Skip to main content
  • Menu
  • Artists
  • Exhibitions
  • Art Fairs
  • News / Events
  • Press
  • Publications
  • Gallery
Menu

Donald Moffett: Blanton Museum of Art,

August 29, 2015 - February 28, 2016
  • Current
  • Upcoming
  • Past

Donald Moffett: Blanton Museum of Art

Past exhibition
August 29, 2015 - February 28, 2016
  • Overview
  • Installation Shots
  • Artists
  • Overview
    Donald Moffett, Blanton Museum of Art

    Donald Moffett's solo exhibition Donald Moffett at Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin. 

    The institution's press release follows:  

    As part of a growing initiative to increase holdings by artists from Texas or currently based in the state, the Blanton Museum of Art presents a special installation of newly acquired works by San Antonio native Donald Moffett.

    With eight works by Moffett in its collection—including the entire suite of eighteen drawings comprising the artist’s Mr. Gay in the U.S.A. series—the Blanton currently holds more works by Moffett than any other museum in the United States. In this intimate presentation, Moffett’s diverse and influential practice is showcased through a rich variety of media including painting, drawing, and projected video on canvas. In addition to the Blanton’s new acquisitions, a handful of works on loan from two Texas collections will be featured.

    “I think Donald Moffett is one of the most exciting artists working today and I am thrilled that his work is now well-represented at the Blanton and in his home state,” explains Veronica Roberts, Blanton curator of modern and contemporary art. “One of the things I admire most about him is the way he consistently takes risks. This exhibition will spotlight the diverse directions that he has explored in his practice.”

    Moffett emerged onto the New York art scene in the late 1970s and quickly became immersed in political activism. He understood the power of art to affect change, and in the early 1980s was a founding member of Gran Fury, the artistic arm of the AIDS activist group ACT UP. He later co-founded Bureau, a design company created to support social causes. In addition to his work that investigates and advances social justice, Moffett is celebrated for his innovative use of materials and non-traditional approach to the canvas. The Blanton’s installation highlights the full breadth of his range, including digital chromogenic prints, drawings, video projection paintings, and lush, bold abstract oil paintings.

    What Barbara Jordan Wore (2001), a series of digital prints exploring the legacy of Texas Congresswoman Barbara Jordan, reveals Moffett’s interest in politics and the highs and lows of equality and progress in America. So too does his series of drawings, Mr. Gay in the U.S.A., which depicts the sentencing of Ronald Gay, a Vietnam War veteran who shot several people at a gay bar in Roanoke, Virginia in 2000, killing one person and seriously injuring many others. (Moffett was in attendance during Gay’s sentencing.) In contrast, Lot 102807 (Yellow) (2007) features an “unzipped” canvas, highlighting the artist’s exploration of abstraction and experimental treatment of the canvas. His Untitled/Green Roller (Lot 080104)(2004) further upends the confines of the traditional two-dimensional frame. It features a video projected on canvas that first appears as an abstract blue and green landscape punctuated by a black hole. In an unexpected and comic turn, a projected hand then emerges from the hole to perform the absurd task of painting the canvas surrounding it.

    Since joining the Blanton in 2013, Veronica Roberts has made it a priority to collect and exhibit artists currently based in Texas or with Texas roots. She has facilitated the acquisition of works by emerging and mid-career artists including Teresa Hubbard and Alexander Birchler, Jamal Cyrus, Natalie Frank, Kirk Hayes, Vincent Valdez, Nic Nicosia, and the collective, Okay Mountain.  By increasing its holdings of works by Moffett and other important Texas artists, the Blanton aims to share with visitors the significant role that Texas has played in shaping the art historical canon.

  • Installation Shots
    Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Moffett 2015 Blanton Museum Of Art 1
    Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Moffett 2015 Blanton Museum Of Art 2
    Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Moffett 2015 Blanton Museum Of Art 3
    Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Moffett 2015 Blanton Museum Of Art 4
    Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Moffett 2015 Blanton Museum Of Art 5
    Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Moffett 2015 Blanton Museum Of Art 7
    Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Moffett 2015 Blanton Museum Of Art 9
    Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Moffett 2015 Blanton Museum Of Art 11
    Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Moffett 2015 Blanton Museum Of Art 10
    Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Moffett 2015 Blanton Museum Of Art 13
    Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Moffett 2015 Blanton Museum Of Art 14
    Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Moffett 2015 Blanton Museum Of Art 15
    Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Moffett 2015 Blanton Museum Of Art 16

    Installation view: Donald Moffett, Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, 2015-2016

  • Artists

    • Donald Moffett
      Artists

      Donald Moffett

Back to Past exhibitions

Alexander Gray Associates

384 Broadway
New York NY 10013
United States


Tuesday – Saturday
10:30 AM – 6:00 PM
Telephone +1 212 399 2636

Inquires

Sales
sales@alexandergray.com

Press
press@alexandergray.com

General
info@alexandergray.com

Mailing List

Subscribe to email list for announcements
info@alexandergray.com

Privacy Policy
Accessibility Policy
Cookie Policy
Manage cookies
Copyright © 2025
Instagram, opens in a new tab.

This website uses cookies
This site uses cookies to help make it more useful to you. Please contact us to find out more about our Cookie Policy.

Manage cookies
Accept

Cookie preferences

Check the boxes for the cookie categories you allow our site to use

Cookie options
Required for the website to function and cannot be disabled.
Improve your experience on the website by storing choices you make about how it should function.
Allow us to collect anonymous usage data in order to improve the experience on our website.
Allow us to identify our visitors so that we can offer personalised, targeted marketing.
Save preferences