Off the Grid: Print Portfolio by Mokha Laget

Off the Grid: Print Portfolio by Mokha Laget opens in the Harnett Museum of Art, August 17, 2020, through July 7, 2021. Mokha Laget (American, born Algeria 1959) is based in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  She  is  known  for  her  geometric  abstractions  with  shaped  canvas  and  hard-edged  color  field  imagery.  While  studying  at  the  Corcoran College of Art and Design, Washington, DC, she was deeply influenced by several prominent artists of the Washington Color School, including Morris Louis, Kenneth Noland, and Paul Reed, and for several years  she  was  a  studio  assistant  for  Gene  Davis.  As  a  professional  artist,  she  continues  to  explore  perception  and  investigating  color  perception in particular, stating “I am less interested in representing a purely optical space, than to question how humans process sensory information when faced with indeterminacy.” 

Twenty years ago, the artist built a solar home and off-grid studio on top of a mountain in New Mexico. Laget states, “The wild emptiness fills  me  with  hope  and  a  sense  that  anything  is  possible.  The  eye  is  not  encumbered  by  any  obstacles  therefore  my  mind  can  roam  freely.” She continues, “My work is heavily informed by art history, but I  can  also  be  moved  by  the  day’s  information,  readings,  memories,  and  hypotheticals,”  and  quotes  the  Russian  artist  Kazimir  Malevich  (1879-1935)  as  saying,  “Art  is  not  only  art,  but  also  a  thought.  It  is  the materialization of an idea.” This print series exemplifies  her  continuing  interest  in  color  theory,  perception,  and  spatial relations. The artist’s website is www.mokhalaget.com

Organized  by  the  University  of  Richmond  Museums,  the  exhibition  was  curated  by  Richard Waller, Executive Director, University Museums.