Feature 2: Patrick Moya - Artist

Anyone who has been to the French Riviera will likely recognize the name of the multimedia artist, Patrick Moya and his colorful works of art.  In fact, this artist is so busy and so popular that it’s becoming hard to keep up with what and where he will be next!

Patrick Moya tends to be more commonly known by his last name Moya, and to me that name is synonymous with the French Riviera.   Moya’s brilliant use of color and design is as big, bright and alive as the region itself.

Moya started out in the art world as a nude model, but if you’ve seen his energy in action you’d know that he probably wasn’t content enough to settle at just one thing.  Moya is a multimedia artist who seems to be able to work with or on any type of item placed in front of him, whether he has a simple pen and piece of paper to canvas to delving into the computer world and producing imaginative and bold pieces of art.

While I was in Cannes one day, I was given the opportunity to meet Moya and have a tour of some of his artwork that at the time was being exhibited inside the beautiful Centre d’art La Malmaison located along the Croisette on the seafront.

Getting the chance to meet Moya was certainly unexpected and I actually had a hard time believing it at first because I had admired his work for so long from afar.  Even when the time came to head to the Centre d’art La Malmaison, I remember crossing the Croisette in disbelief and then I saw Moya himself going into the building with some others and for some reason it felt like I was about to meet a pop star.
 

I quickly (and nervously) made my way inside where there was already a small group of people admiring his floor to ceiling artwork.  Soon afterwards Moya appeared in the room with that fantastic smile of his, greeting everyone.  Slightly star struck, I’m guessing it was the PR person from La Malmaison who had found me in the crowd and brought me over to introduce us to each other.  All I can say is…what a gentleman, so friendly and funny, my French still isn’t up to par, but we seemed to understand each other, and I felt honored to meet him.

There is something about Moya that is intriguing to me, he has a gift, he has a passion and he puts that into his work, which probably explains why he is a success.  He was completely gracious and giving of his time, I was smiling throughout the tour while he showed and explained to us his thoughts behind his art, and he had a gleam in his eyes the whole time that said he was in his element.

 

To me, there is something innocent about his work, yet there are also parts of it and pieces that you will come across that are futuristic, strong and even sometimes dare I say, sexual.  To see his art in person just exudes happiness and a loving energy.

His natural ability shines through when he produces his art, seemingly free and on a whim, it totally amazes me.  Moya’s art can be found on the smallest of hand held items, yet you can also witness him enjoying the moment with others at events such as the Dolly Parties while he paints to the music.

This year Moya painted a race car to showcase his work as part of the Monaco Grand Prix!  And, in cities such as Nice and Cannes you will also see his whimsical genius on parts of the region's public transit system!

The best thing I can suggest you do is buy a piece of it if you see it, and gaze at it in awe if it is on display somewhere openly for the public.  I swear, he gets more famous by the month and his work is so expansive, but here are a couple of links for you to check out to see what Moya is currently working on now:

Patrick Moya

Patrick Moya Facebook News

Enjoy!