Thinkspace Projects Presents b. Robert Moore’s

Out The Mud: A Black American Rite Of Passage

MARCH 4 - MARCH 25

Thinkspace Projects

4207 W. Jefferson Blvd. & 4217 W. Jefferson Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90016

T: 310.558.3375 | Tues. - Sat. Noon to 6PM

Thinkspaceprojects.com

Opening Reception

Saturday, March 4, 6-10pm

DJ, Refreshments, and More

Los Angeles, CA (February 14, 2023) - Thinkspace Projects is honored to present b. Robert Moore’s latest solo show Out the Mud: A Black American Rite Of Passage. Self-taught Moore, uses art as a means to process both the personal and the societal. He provides the perspective that a quick glance may not. Noticing that, like many human and human experiences, the exterior never truly tells how the person was composed within the interior or influences/experiences that impacted them and so human nature typically has a subjective stance. Robert attempts to strip away those subjective "soft" assumptions of narrative, instead, calling it out directly. That is the goal in his work, to conflict and provoke thought of narrative of African and African American diaspora as well as social and civil experiences of underrepresented people and narrative. A true representation of his experiences through a collective community lens, Moore maintains that art should be felt, not just seen.

In describing this body of work, Moore says:

Most the time, when you born Black in America, you don’t have the same rights. For many, it’s even harder, you might not even survive.

As I heard growing up, “Get It Out The Mud”. *

From birth, diggin' out the mud, working to get it how you can with little to no help. Most the time, mud pulls you down, so you got adversity all around you. Constant weight.

It’s survival until you finally out the mud.

For this debut solo, b. Robert Moore, lays out his experience as a Black American, in the perspective of a linear Rite of Passage. As his experiences, and as a Black community in America.

In many African societies, art plays an important role in various rites of passage throughout the cycle of life. These rituals mark an individual’s transition from one stage of life to another. The birth of a child, a youth’s coming of age, and the funeral of a respected elder are all events in which an individual undergoes a change of status. During these transitional periods, individuals are considered to be especially vulnerable to spiritual forces. Art objects are therefore created and employed to assist in the rite of passage and to reinforce community values. **

A Rite of Passage can be different depending on culture, tribe, region, etc.; however, it’s understood generally as important life events as you cycle through stages of “life” and or after life.

For many Black Americans, we have no direct understanding of our traditional African tribes rite of passage. Our only Rite Of Passage is what we have inherited being born descendants of African slaves here in America. For many, birth and childhood are traumatic, coming of age is a form of warfare (if we even survive), conditioned to not understand martial structure, religious confusion through manipulation, death…. And more.

In hopes that our coming of Age, our Rite of Passage, is to make it past the age of 25….

If we do, some of us may even thrive. We may even find a smile. We may recreate. We may be the rose that grew from concrete.

Out The Mud.

In addition to this show, Thinkspace Projects presents F CANCER—a group exhibition benefiting the American Cancer Society, Marissa Reyes’s Fighting Fickle Feelings For You, and Roja’s Asco. These shows open March 4, 2023 with a reception from 6PM to 10PM. They will remain on view until March 25, 2023 at Thinkspace Projects.

About b. Robert Moore

b. Robert Moore (b.1983-) Des Moines, Iowa | Lakewood, California. Robert, a multidisciplinary contemporary artist started painting to counter drug addiction and alcoholism among mental and emotional health outlets. A self taught folk artist, Robert’s mastery is infant but seasoned and continues to be a focus of his practice. Mastery of his passion.

To Robert, he is constantly in pursuit of happiness, which in his current state is defined by fulfillment + purpose. He finds purpose in connecting narrative and opening doors for connection, relation, healing, discussion. From up-cycled sculpture to abstract portrait and urban neo-expressionism, Robert has defined his genre or style as "narrative". He is purposeful with every word, brushstroke and connection to the work with contention if intentionally or accidental occurrences influenced the work.

About Thinkspace                                       

Thinkspace was founded in 2005; now in LA’s thriving West Adams District, the gallery has garnered an international reputation as one of the most active and productive exponents of the New Contemporary Art Movement. Maintaining its founding commitment to the promotion and support of its artists, Thinkspace has steadily expanded its roster and diversified its projects, creating collaborative and institutional opportunities all over the world. Founded in the spirit of forging recognition for young, emerging, and lesser-known talents, the gallery is now home to artists from all over the world, ranging from the emerging, mid-career, and established.

Though the New Contemporary Art Movement has remained largely unacknowledged by the vetted institutions of the fine art world and its arbiters of ‘high culture,’ the future promises a shift. The Movement’s formative aversion to the establishment is also waning in the wake of its increased visibility, institutional presence, and widespread popularity. Thinkspace has sought to champion and promote the unique breadth of the Movement, creating new opportunities for the presentation of its artists and work. An active advocate for what is now one of the longest extant organized art movements in history, Thinkspace is an established voice for its continued growth and evolution, proving their commitment by expanding its projects beyond Los Angeles, exhibiting with partner galleries and organizations in Berlin, Hong Kong, London, New York City, Detroit, Chicago, and Honolulu among many others, participating in International Art Fairs, and curating New Contemporary content for Museums. Committed to the vision, risk, and exceptional gifts of its artists, the gallery is first and foremost a family. From the streets to the museums, and from the “margins” to the white cube, Thinkspace is re-envisioning what it means to be “institutional.”   

Media Inquiries: Hijinx PR | Heidi Johnson | heidi@hijinxarts.com | 323.204.7246