Amber Moir’s works read as reflections of light and colour that are in states of perpetual motion. Her distinctive language of abstraction is rooted in process, and has developed primarily through investigating the potential of watercolour monotype printmaking. Following an experimental and fluid process, Moir is known to explore around and beyond conventional forms of printing. The process of making her large works initially involved emulating a large-scale etching press, either outdoors or on her studio floor, and utilising a pitch-roller as printing tool. Moir’s recent works are hand printed using a baren; a technique she learnt during a 2023 woodblock printmaking residency in Japan. Watercolours are used to paint on sheets of polypropylene plastic before being impressed onto damp calico fabric to create a confluence of painting and print. Moir was originally drawn to printmaking by the feeling of facilitating a series of events rather than working directly on to a substrate. Unlike the controlled environment of the studio press, her experimental methods and materials are imprecise and unpredictable, leaving traces of the process in folds, creases and printed textures in the fabric. Moir emphasises the role of receptivity in her studio, exploring the tension between agency and facilitation and the skill of effectively ‘stepping in and then stepping out’. Recent works show a deeper material investigation through their evolution into books, hand- sewn textile pieces or become ‘footprints’ for drawings and paintings.
Amber Moir was born 1990 in South Africa and lives and works in Cape Town, South Africa
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Solo Exhibitions:
2023 - Only the River, Reservoir Projects, Cape Town
2021 - Composition by Field, Salon91, Cape Town
2020 - Along the Line, Salon 91, Cape Town
2019 - In Praise of Shadows, Cape Town
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Selected Group Exhibitions:
2024 - Space Register, curated by Untitled at Reservoir Projects, Cape Town
2024 - Time Goes Bye, The Ramp, Cape Town
2023 - I Never Promised You a Rose Garden, Cavalli Gallery, Stellenbosch
2022 - Lush, Cavalli Gallery, Stellenbosch
2021 - Falling Awake, curated by Reservoir at The Fourth, Cape Town
2021 - To Whom It May Concern, Salon 91, Cape Town
2020 - Peep Show, Online
2020 - Turbine Art Fair, Johannesburg
2020 - Investec Cape Town Art Fair
2019 - Spier Light Art Festival
2019 - NEXT, Sydney Contemporary Art Fair, Sydney
2019 - Investec Cape Town Art Fair
2018 - Turbine Art Fair, Johannesburg
2018 - Proof, SMAC Gallery, Cape Town
2017 - SS17, Gallery MOMO, Cape Town​​​​​​
2015 - Turbine Art Fair, Johannesburg
2015 - Hinterlands, GUS Gallery, Stellenbosch
2015 - Domestic Odyssey, AVA Gallery, Cape Town