ARTIST'S STATEMENT

"My art walks ahead of me and I walk into it."

Many artists discover their inherent talents at a tender age and take an academic approach to art through institutional studies. Ian Moyer's introduction to art, however, manifested itself later and was solely instinctual rather than instructional.

"I think of a windblown cypress tree that has beauty without symmetry. We are like that tree because even though we experience hard knocks, the hard knocks make us more resilient and interesting. When we resign ourselves to appreciate the world, we discover the serenity and natural beauty that is already here, all around us, that is ours to enjoy. This is where I hope my art, by setting the mood and the environment, will take you."

After gaining expertise working on construction projects, Moyer was inspired to create a romantic world in his home in Southern California's high desert near Palm Springs. Applying special plaster and faux finish techniques he developed, he began by turning a sun room into a fantasy art setting with biomorphic (organic) shapes "growing" around the windows and sculpted a magnificent seraph emerging as part of the door frame, holding high a lamp to illuminate the room.

"One day, in answer to a classified ad, a man came to my home looking to adopt one of my Rottweiler's puppies. When he saw the fantasy setting I had created he commissioned me to transform the screening room of his Bel Air home into a Greek temple."

As Moyer's reputation grew, so did commissions for both residential and commercial projects. Drawing upon an innate design sense, he delighted in fulfilling his clients' fantasies. The environments he creates combine architectural detail elements - sculptural and decorative art relief - with frescos, trompe l'oeil and faux finishes. His many projects have recreated Greek, Egyptian and Mayan architecture, embraced ornate, art nouveau and art deco styles, as well as minimalism and his own individual style and design. With plaster, paint, wax, glazing liquid and various other materials, Moyer became expert at simulating faux stone, faux rock, marble, fitted Inca sandstone, brick, wood, fabric and metal patinas onto his work.

"My installations are alive, bouncing off existing hard edges, creating a contrast from the straight walls and corners. Using biomorphic and organic shapes in my own style, I have no spatial limitations, therefore allowing me unlimited opportunities."