On March 5th, 2022, APPLAUSE hosted artist and Sweetwater native Mitch Moore to showcase some of his most impressive work from over the years. This exhibition was unlike any other shows held at the Jo & Tom Henderson Art Gallery, and truly was a must see. 

Moore reminds us of the talent that is hidden among us in this very special town of ours, and it was an honor specifically bringing his talents to the light. His creative mind mixed with his trials and tribulations of life made for this show to be one of the most vulnerable we have had yet. 

When asked where his inspiration for this collection came from, he confided that it was from all over: starting with his childhood experiences with bullies, recovery of drug and alcohol abuse, depression, and even later finding peace in his life. 

“I guess everything from the full range of human emotions. The most efficient way that I found as a kid, as a young person, to deal with any of that is to express it. Not in a way that I would share it openly in song or in sharing with anybody, but I could put things on paper with a pencil, it worked for me and it didn’t have to work for anybody else.” 

His artwork displayed at this show ranged from all the way back to his early college days where he majored in Fine Arts to more recently created pieces. He has participated in a few contests and in a few art shows in the past, but his proudest moments were the art shows he was kicked out of.  Moore described this specific showcase with the singular word “contradiction”, which references the pride he took in those moments others would be devastated by. Here is what he said as to why:  “So at North Texas, The School of Art, each class had a contest. The piece chosen by the class members would be on display for the Board of Regents. My piece was chosen from our drawing class and then expelled because of the content matter, and I was happier to know that it was chosen and then kicked out, because how ironic?” 

Another quote from Moore:  “One of my goals is, I want to create a piece that if you critique it by the principles of design, we are going to meet the aspects of color and form and flow and balance and composition, and so from a very precise perspective this is a great piece. And then I want the visceral reaction to be ‘but I don’t like it.’ So, the contradiction is, it’s great, it’s not great.”

His passion for creating pieces with that contradiction in mind led us to this show, to allow his out of the box and very unique style to be indulged and to embrace the uncomfortable. 

In case you missed Moore’s “Not Your Average Art Show”, you can see highlights and some of his art below. (Click images to view larger.)