‘Surface Depth’, the newest exhibition on South African shores by UK-based, South African born, artist, Jennifer Morrison, invites viewers to consider the dynamic contextual and emotional forces at work in the artistic process, in her upcoming exhibition at Graham’s Modern & Contemporary in Johannesburg beginning of 2019.
“There are forces at play in this series of paintings”, says Morrison, “elemental forces which lie both within and without. A line of a branch speaks of struggles within me. A gnarled root, a tangled vine, the palest mist, can sum up what it is to be alive. Alive alongside death – another eternal juxtaposition. Decay and rejuvenation, pain and joy, claustrophobia and open space: all of this is trying to find expression on my canvas.”
Morrison was born in South Africa in 1971. It is here that she began her artistic pursuits, later continuing in London after graduating from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design. She has exhibited in group shows in London and New York, and her works are in private collections in USA, London, Singapore, South Africa, and beyond.
Although she has lived in London for over two decades, the colours and vibrancy of South Africa remain evident in Morrison’s work. Large canvasses are used to explore the delicate balance between the unconscious and the deliberate, the precise mark and the accident, the paint’s ability to offer communication and meaning, while evading precision and definition at the same time. It is this ambiguity that fascinates Graham Britz, owner and curator at Graham’s Modern & Contemporary in Johannesburg.
“This will be the third time we are exhibiting with Jennifer, who is quickly gaining recognition with local and international collectors alike”, says Britz. “Her work deals predominantly with colour and shape, movement and rhythm, and in this latest exhibition, she invites us to consider the contexts, processes and influences under the surface of her fascinating canvasses, rather than merely the final, finished surface.
Surface Depth’ opens on Thursday, 24 January at 7pm at Graham’s Modern & Contemporary, Bryanston, and will run until Tuesday, 26 February 2019. For more information, contact the gallery on +27 (0)11 463 7869 or [email protected].
Although she has lived in London for over two decades, the colours and vibrancy of South Africa remain evident in Morrison’s work. Large canvasses are used to explore the delicate balance between the unconscious and the deliberate, the precise mark and the accident, the paint’s ability to offer communication and meaning, while evading precision and definition at the same time. It is this ambiguity that fascinates Graham Britz, owner and curator at Graham’s Modern & Contemporary in Johannesburg.
“This will be the third time we are exhibiting with Jennifer, who is quickly gaining recognition with local and international collectors alike”, says Britz. “Her work deals predominantly with colour and shape, movement and rhythm, and in this latest exhibition, she invites us to consider the contexts, processes and influences under the surface of her fascinating canvasses, rather than merely the final, finished surface.
Surface Depth’ opens on Thursday, 24 January at 7pm at Graham’s Modern & Contemporary, Bryanston, and will run until Tuesday, 26 February 2019. For more information, contact the gallery on +27 (0)11 463 7869 or [email protected]. 
