Sperone Westwater is pleased to present “How to paint like an athlete,” its second exhibition of new paintings by Katy Moran and her first in New York since 2019.

Moran is best known for abstract paintings which explore form, color and surface. Until now, her process has involved pushing, pulling and distorting paint. For this new body of work, Moran has incorporated other techniques, such as pouring paint onto the surface and using her own body in mark making. Introducing accident and chance in this way creates a dynamism that is both liberating and surprising, as the artist oscillates between control and allowing the nature of the paint to inform the work.

Adopting a working method Moran describes as “flow state,” attuned to a state of bodily awareness, allows the work to come into existence seemingly of its own accord, without interference of conscious will. Her use of intuitive impulses conjures powerful atmospheres, creating abstract forms often suggestive of landscapes, still lifes and figuration.

Notable in this new body of work is her exploration of color, especially blue and a stronger, more vivid palette, inspired by the colors in and around her home and often corresponding to the changing seasons. Large, flat planes of color slide over line, texture and imagery, questioning our understanding of harmony and discord. Central to her practice remains a concern for painting as an object, evidenced by her frequent use of found paintings as canvases, sometimes keeping parts of the original surface visible.

Katy Moran lives and works in Hertfordshire. She was born in Manchester in 1975 and completed an MA Fine Art in painting at the Royal College of Art, London in 2005. Moran’s work has been the subject of solo exhibitions at Parasol Unit for Contemporary Art, London (2015); the Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin (2013); Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus (2010); Tate St. Ives (2009); and Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, UK (2008). Her work has been featured in group exhibitions at Tate St. Ives (2018); Aspen Art Museum (2015); Walker Art Center, Minneapolis (2013); SFMOMA (2012); and Tate Britain, London (2008), among others. Her work is included in important public and private collections including Arts Council Collection, London; David Roberts Art Foundation; Government Art Collection, London; The Rachofsky Collection, Dallas; Royal College of Art, London; Tate; SFMOMA; Walker Art Center; Yale Center for British Art, New Haven; and Zabludowicz Collection.

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