Paul Thiebaud Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of Along the Way, continued… Artworks by John Moore and MYL3Z on Saturday, May 16th, from 3-5pm, with remarks at 3:30pm.  On view will be paintings and mixed media constructions by John Moore and sculptural assemblages and acrylic prints on woven leather by MYL3Z.  Inspired by the everyday moments of their lives, the artworks of John Moore and MYL3Z draw upon memory, urban storytelling, and the rhythms of African American culture and community as the source for their creation.  The exhibition will be on view through July 2, 2026.

Selected from the final four decades of his career, Along the Way, continued… stands as a memorial exhibition for the late John Moore (1938-2025) who made work for over 60 years.  Rarely seen except by friends and family who visited his home, Moore’s works contain a variety of themes and subject matter.  One of Moore’s greatest loves was music and musicians, which can be found in works such as Charlie Parker “Yardbird” (n.d.) and James Brown (1989).  In many of Moore’s works, color, line, and composition are variously combined with mixed media objects, headlines from newspapers, and/or song lyrics.  Moore’s paintings and sculptures are an extension of the numerous journals he kept, their pages full of collaged found imagery and words juxtaposed next to each other.  Moore did not consider himself an artist and eschewed the trappings of the art world.  Rather, he was a self-taught maker for whom creating his work was something he was simply compelled to do.  In this light, each of his works acts as an informal biographical moment from his life, in addition to reflecting key moments in the history of African American culture in the United States. 

MYL3Z is an emerging creative and maker whose works center on found objects gathered from the urban environment and the histories they contain.  Through the arrangement of materials, MYL3Z processes memory and navigates the complexities of identity and inheritance.  The grandson of John Moore and renowned Bay Area artist Mildred Howard, the influence of his family is visually and emotionally present in these first works to emerge from his studio.  In MYL3Z’s words, each work echoes “the improvisational logic of everyday survival…” through “repair, reuse, and reimagining…”, while also honoring traditions passed down through his family. 

John Moore was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, in 1938 and moved to Oakland, California at the age of three.  In 1957 he moved to North Oakland, where he would live until his passing in 2025.  His works have been shown in a solo presentation at Roll Up Project in 2020, and in group exhibitions, including Midas at the Berkeley Art Center in 2022, Five and Two Others with Oliver Jackson at Creativity Explored in 2019, a 2006 exhibition at Santa Rosa Junior College with his longtime partner Mildred Howard, and an exhibition at the Fiber Works Center for the Textile Arts in the 1970s alongside Raymond Holbert, Arthur Monroe, E.J. Montgomery, and Raymond Saunders.  A monograph of his works titled Along the Way: The Art of John Moore, with an essay by Nick Stone, was published in 2018. 

Lamar “MYL3Z” Brown was born in Oakland and raised in Berkeley, California.  MYL3Z has spent most of his life working closely alongside his grandmother and mentor, Mildred Howard.  Her influence has been fundamental to his path as a creative and maker.  His works have previously been exhibited alongside his grandmother’s at Turner Carroll Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico in 2022. In addition to being a maker, MYL3Z is a music producer, actor, and filmmaker working in Oakland.