Using clay-based paint, Mokha Laget has crafted a series of geometric abstractions that gravitate between non- objective and objective interpretations. Laget’s triangular wedge forms, tapering to a point at one end and opening wide at the other, draw the eye in a multitude of directions, right out of the picture frame, presenting an interplay of architectural forms in space without use of any actual explicit references. The surface treatment in her work has a matte, velvety texture enhanced through the use of clay pigments. Some colors sink into the canvas and others pop out.

Laget represents a direct lineage from the Washington Color School, active in the D.C. area from the late 1950s and through the 1960s. Beyond that, Laget’s paintings recall the earlier Color Field movement as well as the work of German-born painter Josef Albers. She was a studio assistant with Gene Davis of the Washington Color School for four years and worked extensively with him on color issues and color application.

Mohka Laget was born in Algeria and spent her early life in North Africa, France, and the United States. Her educational background includes coursework in philosophy and anthropology, a Bachelor in Fine Arts from the Corcoran School of Art, a postgraduate degree from the School of Linguistics at Georgetown University, and graduate work in Museum Studies from UC Hayward. She has exhibited widely in national settings as well as in Europe, worked as an independent curator, and is a published translator and poet. She currently lives and works in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

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More recently, Mokha Laget has been awarded the POLLOCK-KRASNER FOUNDATION ARTIST GRANT for 2019. The grant is awarded annually to nominated artists from around the world who have worked professionally for a significant period of time and who have recognizable artistic merit.