Summer Hymns: A Love Letter to the South
Ricardo Moody’s newest collection, Summer Hymns, marks a quiet yet powerful return to the place he calls home. Rooted in memory, texture, and atmosphere, this body of work captures the feeling of late summer in the South—where heat lingers, time slows, and meaning lives in the smallest details.
The collection features nine brand-new original paintings, created with acrylic on canvas and linen. Each piece reflects a balance between layering emotion and environment into visual hymns that feel both personal and familiar.
Inspired by Southern Summers
Summer Hymns draws inspiration from Ricardo's lived experience of growing up and spending time in the South. Late summer memories—sun-faded landscapes, quiet roads, and lived-in spaces—serve as the emotional backbone of the collection. While his work often carries a Western influence, this series intentionally shifts its focus inward, grounding itself fully in Southern imagery.
“The goal was to make a group of paintings using only images from the South,” Moody explains. “I typically have a Western vibe, so this felt like coming back home.”
Moody found daily inspiration in searching for beauty in overlooked details: weathered surfaces, subtle color shifts, and the quiet poetry of everyday surroundings. These details become anchors within the paintings, giving each piece a sense of place without spelling it out explicitly.
A Soundtrack to the Collection
If Summer Hymns had a soundtrack, it would be filled with songs by Khruangbin. Like the band’s music, the collection feels atmospheric, warm, and reflective—existing somewhere between nostalgia and the present moment. It’s art meant to be felt as much as seen.
A Familiar Place, Reimagined
With Summer Hymns, Ricardo Moody offers more than a new set of paintings—he offers a return. The collection is a meditation on home, memory, and the subtle moments that shape identity. It’s a reminder that inspiration doesn’t always come from somewhere new, but often from seeing what’s always been there with fresh eyes.