Courtesy photo

WHO: Ethan Moore, 29

BEST KNOWN FOR: Humorous sculpture that criticizes contemporary society — or, as Moore calls his work, “plastic candy irony.” In “Excerpts from the Book of @trophy,” Moore has created the heads of deer, a mountain lion, a coyote and other animals from polyurethane foam and fashioned flattened bodies out of delicately patterned textiles. The fabric represents humans' domestic internal spaces, he says. The juxtaposition (which Moore calls “Blade Runner meets Marie Antoinette”) is “beautiful and uncomfortable and ugly at the same time, and sad and happy,” he said. “We want absolute control but at the same time we want the aesthetic of God and nature.” That conquering and exploiting of nature “makes it gross, and that's why I've tried to make it ornate, ornate enough to make the viewer see it and want to look at it,” Moore said. The fabric is only a pretty façade, covering up the emptiness inside, he says; the whole package is an attempt to draw our attention to the lack of self-awareness and self-consciousness in American society.

FACTOIDS: Moore works as a housing inspector and splits his time between San Antonio, New York, San Francisco and Maui.

CHECK HIM OUT: His work will be up at Stella Haus in the Blue Star Arts Complex, 1400 S. Alamo St., No. 106B, as part of Contemporary Art Month through July. Opening receptions take place from 6 to 9 p.m. July 6-7. He'll also have an exhibit in New York in December, which will include his trophy-wife series — works similar to his animal sculptures except the heads are women's — and stickers reading “Texas Trophy Wife Hunters Association.”

Jessica Belasco | 210SA Contributor