About
Acclaimed Australian artist Shane Moad was born in Manly N.S.W in 1959. He came to live in Western Australia in 1979.
The Moad’s originate from the Shetland Islands, from there they went to America and Australia. They settled in the Appalachian mountains of Tennessee, North Carolina, Missouri and Texas.
Shane has always been moved by the Australian landscape, his family on his mothers side ( Blackman ) are a prominent pioneering family from New South Wales.
Like his family before him, Shane has been mainly involved in the pastoral industry on stations and farms throughout the state.
In 1994, four years after a major motor cycle accident, he found he had a talent in painting that was unknown to him until that time. Shane has had no formal instruction and continues to grow as an artist through observation and practice.
His desire in his work is to strip it to its essence as he feels that in some ways there is nothing less real than realism, “often, the more detail there is, the more confusing the painting becomes to the viewer and in the end the meaning of the work becomes lost”.
He has a strong colour content in his paintings with a semi-abstract view of the landscape, which is his main subject matter. He interprets the landscape giving them almost human form with a sensual feeling to them, always hoping to bring to the viewer another way to experience the scene.
Shane's artwork is in private and corporate collections throughout Australia, America, England and Asia, his style is recognised by leading authorities in the art world as very unique in its approach. He has also won “Cossack Art Award”, the nations largest regional art award twice in the landscape category, this award attracts artists the calibre of Ken Done, Sally Morgan, Larry Mitchell, John Borak and the late Elizabeth Durack to name a few.
Shane has been given awards by Alan R. Dodge, Past Director of the “Art Gallery of Western Australia”, Robert Juniper, esteemed Australian artist, David Walker, Adjunct Professor of Art, Curtin University, Robert Cook, Associate Curator of Contemporary Art at the Art Gallery of Western Australia and an art critic for The West Australian, plus many others.
Shane lives in the Avon Valley township of Beverley with his wife Valerie, and their children, Ethan and Rebekah.