Matthew Moore

Matthew Moore is a conceptual artist and the fourth generation of a farming family that grew crops to the west of Phoenix. He was also the last generation to farm that land. As metropolitan Phoenix grew exponentially, housing has taken the place of agriculture. In response to his grandfather selling the first part of the farm for development in 2004, Moore created Rotations: Moore Estates—a scaled replica of the plan for 253 homes that he created on 35 acres by planting sorghum for the houses with the roads indicated by areas of wheat. Working in video, photography and large-scale installation on the land as well as in art and non-art spaces, Moore explores the use of the land, our relationship to the economy, the fate of the world’s natural resources, and the dislocation of urban dwellers from the methods and processes of food production in order to initiate a conversation about our way of life and the future of our species.

Moore holds a MFA and a BFA in Art History and Sculpture from San Francisco State University. His work has been shown the Walker Art Center, MASS MoCA, Crystal Bridges Museum, Sundance Film Festival, Phoenix Art Museum, ASU Art Museum, Armory Center for the Arts Pasadena, World Congress of Soil Science in Korea and Nuit Blanche in Toronto. He lectures nationally on art and agriculture, including at the 2014 TEDxManhattan. He is currently involved with a number of hybrid projects that bring together art, architecture, design and urban farming.