Abstract hard edge painter Jeremy Morgan
Hello Jeremy, please tell us something about you
I’m a painter and graphic designer, living and working in Oxford, UK. Dividing my creative output between design and an evolving contemporary artist practice, my design background has influenced the development of my visual language. I often get my best ideas when out running – once back in the studio I’ll quickly note them down in a sketchbook. Over the next days and weeks I’ll flick through the sketches, allowing further ideas to form and solidify, until the time feels right to begin. I’ll then raid my supply of wood panels looking for the right shapes and sizes to make the painting. As I paint, I’ll often photograph or scan the developing work and bring the images onto my computer to try out new arrangements and colours, aiming to break my own preconceptions.
Let’s talk about your artistic interests
I make contemporary abstract work which aims to incorporate visual forms with a strong connection to the contemporary world of architecture, technology and production. My paintings are open-ended responses to the beauty and imperfection I find within this world – I’m interested in creating unstable compositions – arrangements which perhaps “only just work” and which are maybe close to collapse, whilst simultaneously incorporating playful, and at times slapstick elements….”Are we having fun?” the works might be asking. I’m interested in the potential contradiction of responding to the fast-paced contemporary world with an older, slower technology – paint. But the marks left by my brush on the work’s surface which are discernible on close inspection are important signifiers of the possibilities which painting still holds to respond to our present times.
What are the cornerstones of your work?
My hard edged abstract pieces are generally bold and colourful and are painted on board or wood panels – I often build paintings from separate panels which are arranged and re-arranged during the process until I feel the composition works. Using separate elements and being open to change during the making process is an important strategy for me and helps to keep possibilities open – it’s quite common for me to invert or re-order elements many times, so that the final painting ends up radically changed from my original sketches. There is a strong element of discordancy in my paintings – I like to keep an element of the unresolved in my work.
What are your goals for the near future?
I’d like to push new materials in my work. I’ve been experimenting with flocking recently – mixing this very soft way of colouring the surface, with the more traditional painted surface. I have also recently set up an artist group called “EPOX” for those with an interest in contemporary and expanded painting. Wed have been cretating a series of online artist talks which have been inspiring! I would like to develop opportunities for this group further.
Do you have an artistic philosophy?
I favour inspiration over philosophy to describe my thoughts on art. I’m constantly inspired by the world around us – soaking up colour combinations from the strangest sources. By stripping away the superfluous, even the most unprepossessing colour combinations can sing when re-purposed a reductive, abstract form.
Something thought-provoking
Stop looking to complicate things unnecessarily – if something feels right, go with it!
Jeremy Morgan ★ Artist resume
I’m a painter and graphic designer, living and working in Oxford, UK. Dividing my creative output between design and an evolving contemporary artist practice, my design background has influenced the development of my visual language, which seeks to marry dynamism and friction with the beauty and imperfection of the contemporary world. My pieces are generally painted on board or wood panels – I often build paintings from separate panels which are arranged and re-arranged during the process until I feel the composition works. Using separate elements and being open to change during the making process is an important strategy for me and helps keep possibilities open – it’s quite common for me to invert or re-order elements many times, so that the final painting ends up radically changed from my original sketches.
Many of my paintings are box mounted – the depth of this boxing allowing the works to be elevated beyond the realm of purely flat painting, becoming crafted objects of beauty, which, perhaps, also reflect something of contemporary technology in their robust and minimal construction. I’m interested in the potential contradiction of responding to the fast-paced contemporary world with an older, slower technology – paint. But the marks left by my brush on the work’s surface which are discernible on close inspection are important signifiers of the possibilities which painting still holds to respond to our present times.
Thank you, Jeremy.
Instagram: @jeremy_r_morgan
