Rebecca Moses Showcases Paintings of 8 Jazz Legends in Los Angeles

During COVID lockdown, Rebecca Moses got busy. In her home studio, the artist and fashion designer began painting healthcare professionals, an exercise that consummated in a traveling exhibition of 46 female portraits called “Thank You Mount Sinai Nurses.” Today, she’s continued her oeuvre of depicting brave, talented women with “Voices,” her show on now at Ralph Pucci International in Los Angeles of vivid, 6-foot-tall paintings of eight jazz legends: Josephine Baker, Joyce Bryant, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Lena Horne, Hazel Scott, Nina Simone, and Sarah Vaughan.

“They’ve all made a significant impact on my life, their ballads accompanying unforgettable moments in my journey,” Moses says. “The canvas size was important because the women are larger than life. The boldness of color ties into the depth and emotion conveyed in their music.” The works mark the artist’s first use of such 3-D elements as leafing, rice paper, and rhinestone—effects that help “depict each singer’s multidimensionality.” Accompanying the exhibit inside the gallery is “Style Energies,” a series of murals painted directly on the fa­cade that Moses says “reflect a new generation of strong, diver­si­fied, and dynamic women that dance to their own tune.”