My work explores the subjects of stardom, vanity and excess within society with an emphasis on woman and the feminine. I am fascinated by western culture’s obsession with beauty in film, poetry and classic literature that have created idealized versions of reality. The stylized and romanticized art indispensable elements in my work and correspond to the methodic use of color that expresses human emotions through their psychological representations. 

I spent my formative art years traveling in Europe and studying in France where I got my degree. As an American, I was immersed in French culture while remaining somewhat idealistic and naive; inspiring much of the poetry and romanticism of my work. When studying art history I was always fascinated with the female figure and how it was portrayed through masculine interpretation. The male as the artist and the female as the specimen inspires the voyeurism in my work and is in direct connection to my own feelings of being observed and watched.

Much of my inspiration comes from navigating the world with the knowledge of my womanhood. Essentially, I am the women in my paintings and I experience their emotions in a dreamlike environment where my feelings are acceptable. I am always making a voyage in connection to my characters and I am in a way expressing what is inside me, what is hidden and forbidden, and what I would never be able to touch in reality. 

FEMALE GAZE:

“Women haunt galleries and museums as idealized beings: we are young, smooth, slim and hairless; virtuous, sinuous, remote. We embody myths, fairy tales, biblical stories and allegories; we are saints, goddesses and seductresses. We are beautiful, we are wicked, we are fallen and risen, we are holy, we are unattainable. We are almost always a type. We are very rarely ourselves.”

 -Jennifer Higgie, The Mirror and the Palette

I am always seeking my portrayal through a specifically feminine lens that corresponds to the male gaze, but is unrestricted to it and thus becomes the female gaze. My paintings are then a subtle criticism of that predominantly male observation. Being consumed, ignored, stalked, or abandoned all by a simple look is something that resonates with me, defining the feminine point of view. The cultural image of the female and the overtly romantic nature of my work ironically exposes and deflects from the truth behind female objectification. This paradox within my work embraces the myth of woman in a playful and reproachful way. The female gaze is the ultimate opportunity to form my narrative and imagery without abandoning the beauty and nuance of the feminine.

Allison Moyers was born in 1989 in Abilene, Texas. As a child, she often entertained herself by sketching people and copying images that intrigued her. She was greatly influenced by her grandmother who was an oil painter and her mother who introduced her to the magic of old films. She took art in high school and continued her pursuit of the arts into university. In 2010 she spent a semester abroad in Verviers, Belgium where she studied art history and language arts. 

After her experience in Europe, she decided to continue her education in Paris, France, and eventually attended university at ESAD de Valenciennes. She graduated with honors and a BFA in Fine Arts in 2015. In school, she was exposed to many artistic mediums, but found her passion for oil painting and video arts. Upon graduating she and her husband moved back to the United States. She now lives in Phoenix Arizona where she works as an artist.