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Rachel Moser

2023 Kentucky Fellow for Visual Arts

Rachel Moser

Recipient Information

Location

Lexington, Kentucky

Year of Award

2023

Grant or Fellowship

Southern Prize and State Fellowship

Grant Amount

$5,000

Rachel Moser is an interdisciplinary artist and educator based in central Kentucky. Her works feature an array of natural and manufactured materials presented through sculpture, video, installation, and sound. Moser graduated from Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle with a BFA in Motion and Graphic Design, and earned an MFA in Studio Art from the University of Kentucky. Influences and inspiration come from Moser’s years of immersion in movement practice and performing as a ballet dancer prior to moving into the field of visual arts. In 2019, Moser received a grant from the Great Meadows Foundation to fund her travel to Svalbard for the Arctic Circle Residency, providing the foundation for her current exhibition. Her work has been shown throughout Kentucky, at places such as the Morlan Gallery at Translyvania University, Georgetown College, Lexington Art League, and the Parachute Factory. Her art has also been shown nationally at Waldemer A. Schmidt Art Gallery at Wartbug College in Iowa, and San Luis Obispo Museum of Art in California. Moser's work has also been shown internationally in Svalbard, Norway as part of the Arctic Circle Residency. Her work is an ongoing study of climate change and human impact on the planet. Moser is currently Professor of Digital Art at Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, Kentucky.

Artist Statement

In my work, I explore ideas of nature and its transformation over time. Addressing matters of ecological concern, my work frequently stems from field exercises both close to home and in remote locations with acute geophysical identities, such as rivers, ice fields, oceans, and forests. An ongoing reflection upon the mythos and policies of exploration in a globalized age is central to my practice. Working across media and conceptual paradigms, my expressions offer a vision of our landscapes while inviting consideration of its delicate ecology and fraught geopolitical condition in a world where human civilization and the natural landscape are intrinsically linked. As such, I use a mix of reclaimed, recycled, and natural materials alongside mass-manufactured products to reflect and showcase the intrinsic conflict of human existence on our planet. My goal is to create experiences available to all audiences in an effort to share my witness of the impact climate change has on our planet through the use of light, media, and sound.