Native Ibizan, world citizen. Discover how his life shifted from working as Vibe Manager at one of the biggest hotel companies on the island to become an international artist, and what’s behind this radical change.
If you believe that names have a big impact on life, imagine carrying one of a prophet and spiritual leader. Traditionally, the origin of the name Moses is related to water. And there is something in the flow, in the power of transformation, and in the ability to transcend barriers, that Moisés practices with the same spiritual depth as his predecessor.
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Since he was a child that he used to paint and express himself artistically, but his fate and the social conditioning of the times—having a career, studying, working—made him go the long way. However, he always knew that art was his biggest passion, and that’s why he studied acting, wrote creative scripts, had a talent agency in Madrid, and finally spent the last years working as Artistic Director in Ibiza. All that happened between brushstrokes.
Later in Miami, he met Jordi Moyá and Nacho Cano and his life took another turn for the better. He helped them producing their shows and they, after looking at Moi’s paintings, invited him to exhibit together, neither more nor less than in Art Basel, the most important gallery fair in the world.
His bright and playful paintings drew the attention of all those who passed by Wynwood district, including Antonio Banderas, whose photo next to La Gitana travelled around the world. Curiously, the same artwork that first made him feel ashamed to show others, is the one that showed him the way in the end.
There are murals of Moi spread all over the island: at OD, offices, houses, schools, workshops, streets… But his work is destined to transcend frontiers, and this is how, recently, he appeared in the headlines for participating in a collective exhibition at the UN headquarters in New York after donating “Flamingolf“, one of his most beloved works, to the Scholas foundation. If the painting finds a buyer at the auction, they both will meet Pope Francis, and the flamingo will spread its wings again.
Moi paints to heal, to reconnect with the essential, in times where superficial values reign and sometimes it hurts, especially in Ibiza. He believes that artists should use their power to transmute all negative experiences and converting them into colours. That’s why he tries to express himself exactly the way he is: imperfect, cheerful, colorful. As a fun fact, he knows that a painting is good when he finishes it and starts dancing in front of it. That’s his biggest reward.
When somebody asks which is the style that defines him, he replies the “moiseísmo“, and he’s right. There are a lot of people who paint, but not everyone has developed their personal style and signature. “Perhaps it is impossible for you to compete with the bests of the world. But there’s no one who can be better than you in what you do. That is the truth, and there is the courage“—he told me, and his words remained vibrating in the air, sustained by the rays of the morning sun—. “All the artists were risky in a moment, had to broke with the established, and in the end, that’s what people value: the courage. We like to see others doing what we don’t dare to do for ourselves. Because deep down, we all feel identified with this profound search for freedom“.