Moshe Newhouse, a Fine Arts graduate from Montclair State University in New Jersey, is a contemporary abstract painter whose work reflects the playfulness of oil paint.
His works are based on Old Masters paintings, rendered in a characteristic chiaroscuro technique. He then takes on these images in a somewhat violent but ingenious manner by pinching, puncturing, scratching or mutilating the surface using knifes, scalpels, heavy impasto paint and other harsh methods. This creates an effect that even looks like an old master painting that has been through many changes and alterations!
In discussing cultural traces, violence, fear and spirituality with his mind boggling paintings, Moshe Newhouse takes on different topics. He focuses mainly on religious works (martyrs and saints), but he also sketches portraits of individuals such as Abraham Lincoln or Leonardo da Vinci. He also creates landscapes and sculptures in which the viewer can see vistas of lower Manhattan or nature around him.
The main theme of his paintings is the body and physicality. By removing, changing, and adding layers to his paintings, Moshe Newhouse intends to reveal a freshness and an intensity in contrast with the outer tones. He focuses on how art functions as a representation of reality-denying classic depictions which focus on appearances only.
