Harry Moody was trained at the prestigious Art Academy Städel in Frankfurt, Germany. The highly selective academy is a progressive school without a formal doctrine, and instills ideas of free thinking in its students. Moody’s artistic development was influenced by three significant professors at the academy, including Johannes Schreiter, Thomas Bayrle, and Josef Beuys. He majored in Free Painting, and his style and artistic methodology developed out of the German art scene of the 70’s and 80’s. Another major influence of Moody’s career came in 1986 when he was introduced to Städel professor Gerhard Richter.
Moody’s work is a culmination of his impressive artistic education, exposure to the artistic atmosphere of Germany in the 70s and 80s, and his own philosophies. Moody believes that all art begins with drawing, and while he is foremost a painter, he credits his dedication to the continued practice of drawing to one of his early instructors, Karl Bormann. All of Moody’s paintings reflect his appreciation of nature. His inspiration comes the horizons, landscapes, and deserts he observes while hiking in nature. His watercolor studies, from which he develops his compositions, are based on these experiences. Moody also uses photography as an important step in his artistic process, documenting his time in nature for further reflective study.
When talking about his creative process, Moody says, “I try to get myself out of the equation and I try to get out of my own way. I try to blank out the conscious. The conscious is too manipulative. It’s too much of a box. There are too many trappings. In the subconscious you run into the intuitive, the six sense, a knowledge that is actually metaphysical. The subconscious is where the essence of you is really getting played.”
Harry Moody has exhibited at Städel Museum Frankfurt and Landes Museum Wiesbaden, and his works can be found in international public and private collections.
