(Long Island, NY) The Hamptons would not be the Hamptons without the Annual Exhibition of Max Moran’s works of art. This years summer exhibition was revealed on August 11th at Martha Clara Vineyards. Max Moran’s famous Annual Exhibition continues to expand each year showcasing Manhattan rainscapes and country landscapes combining textures, his own technique and elements of nature.
Max was born in Ohio to an Irish American family. The artist studied two years at art school and was taught a very fundamental philosophy which he reveals as “a very grounded, academic way of painting in the American tradition.” Max grew up loving art as a child and was influenced by television, magazines and his father’s hobby as a folk art painter/sculptor. He was later awarded a scholarship in 1977 to the Columbus College of Art and Design. Max has been quoted as saying, “College opened my eyes with the art community, giving me the language as how to operate in the art community.” To learn his craft he traveled to Dublin, Ireland spending valuable time with others artists and poets Heaney and Seamus. He started sketching the Irish countryside and Dublin.
Artist Max Moran and Cognac Wellerlane at Max Moran’s famous Annual Exhibition
Fifteen years ago Max decided to move to Mattituck which motivated him to bring out a new period of inspirational art work. In his early beginnings living in Ohio, Max learned the technique of powerful raw brush strokes. In Manhattan he captured the fast paced lifestyle and the energy of the most famous city in the world painting rainy gray city streets, storefronts and colorful flowering bodegas. The artist also lived in Cape Cod allowing him to capture the sea on canvas. Later he decided to establish himself here in Long Island living on the Northfork.
“Manhattan Rain Series” showcased in 2002. The Bentley Publishing Group impressed with Max’s talent introduced a reproduction poster of “Waiting for a Cab-Park Avenue,” to the international art publishing market at Art Expo New York which was ranked #71 in Bentley’s Top 100 list. Upon its release the poster won out 30,000 other significant posters in the line in just six months.
Max Moran’s creations are timeless and provocative capturing the essence of the moment. His rainscapes transforms us to timelessness we associate during those dark gray, rainy days. Max is genius using the illumination of light to create intense depth and atmosphere.
Country Landscapes by Max Moran
Ultimately Max’s love for art has taken him around the world from Martha’s Vineyard to Dublin Ireland to the North Shore of Long Island. “New York is the cultural center of the world,” Max revealed.
I had a chance to chat with Max at his Art Exhibition. Here are some of the extraordinary things he had to say.
Cognac: At what age did you determine that you wanted to create art?
Max: Kindergarten. Soon as I got my hands on the crayons and the pencils my mind took off and I saw possibilities from drawing and painting.
Cognac: Give us your interpretation of what an artist is?
Max: Somebody who creates art. That definition is going to be broad depending on who you talk to but one who dedicates their life in the pursuit of creating whether it be two dimensional or listen two these two gentleman behind us play this great jazz, these people are artists. Somebody who can make an instrument a piece of paper a piece of canvas, a piece of steel that tickles your emotion that moves you if that magic happens you are an artist.
Cognac: Tell us about the collection we are seeing here today. How many are in the collection.
Max: Original oils 24 about 25 maybe a pretty good show.
Cognac: 25 paintings throughout the whole gallery. You live out here on the Northfork.
Max: I am from Ohio originally and I like my horizon lines. I love fresh produce and being by the ocean and all those things. The Northfork to me is like the Central Park of Manhattan. It moves me.
Cognac: What famous artist have influenced you?
Max: Love John Singer Sargent because he so effortlessly slung the brush around and the paint always found its. spot, wonderful, wonderful paintings. George Bellows, his Schumacher Collection was a resource for me to study his work.
At the end of our interview I inquired “Why should an artist have a website?” Max articulated “Galleries are no longer own the walls.” He went on to say that artists should promote their work as much as possible and the Internet is a wonderful resource to do that. On a final note I asked “What advice would you give artist today?” “Don’t give up of course, keep that passion, Keep stoking that. Go to museums, go listen to some music, go read a great book that someone recommended, perseverance” he strongly emphasized.
A famous quote of Max has been,”I love this country, and I feel passionate about the things I paint. Words can be manipulated but a painting cannot. It has a lot more truth because the language is universal.”
