Making waves in Glen Cove

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Dozens of people stopped by the Glen Cove Senior Center to admire the artwork of local resident Fred Moore on Sept. 5. Moore’s gallery, “Making Waves,” displays paintings that take inspiration from “The Great Wave Off Kanagawa,” a famous woodcut by Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai.

“Fred and I have been making waves for more than 40 years, whether it be our marriage, children, professions or talents, ” Ilene Moore, Fred’s wife, said. “This show of new work for the Glen Cove Senior Center represents a union of past and present techniques that are demonstrative of Fred’s artistic style.”

Art has always been Fred’s passion, from his childhood days in Harlem, copying illustrations off of The Encyclopedia Britannica that his mom had bought him, to attending the prestigious High School of Music and Art in New York, where he studied under renowned artist Norman Lewis, whose works hang on display at the Museum of Modern Art. After he graduated, Moore worked graveyard shifts as a campus security guard in order to attend the Pratt Institute, where he earned his Bachelors and Masters in Fine Arts.

Although he found success as an artist, Fred eventually joined the Environmental Protection Agency as their Minority Business Enterprise Equal Employment and Affirmative Action Officer. The job eventually brought him to Glen Cove in the 1980s, where he and Ilene settled down and raised their two kids, Kate and Jeffery. In 1987, Fred began working with Glen Cove’s Section 8 program, which he would eventually lead as director, a position he still occupies on a part-time basis.

But no matter what career path he followed, Fred stayed committed to the arts and helped found the Hempstead Harbor Artists’ Association, where he served as vice president from 1983 to 2000. HHAA continues to thrive as they put on monthly exhibitions of more than 140 local artists in venues all over Glen Cove and Nassau County.

“Art is a lifelong passion,” Fred said. “People can’t make you do it, and people can’t stop you from doing it.”

As a Long Island resident for the past 40 years, Fred gained an affinity for Long Island Sound and Hempstead Harbor. The frequent walks he takes with Ilene through Morgan Park drew Fred to the waves of the water that would eventually lead him to Hokusai’s work and the creation of the “Making Waves” gallery, which also serves as a fundraiser for the Glen Cove Senior Activity Generational Endowment Foundation, which helps secure government grants for the senior center. Glen Cove Senior Center Director Carol Waldman said she was thankful for Fred’s work as she described him not only as an important figure in the local art community, but also as a kind man with an infectious smile.

“It’s an honor to have his work up here,” Waldman said. “He’s extremely talented, and I’m proud to call him a friend.”

The gallery will be on display on the second-floor of the Glen Cove Senior Center until the end of October.