Frank Morris: hum
Galerie Dusseldorf , Perth, 15 April - 13 May 2012
“Waiting for the bus?” I laugh as 2 friends fold themselves into the backseat of our red Mazda. 15 minutes later we are in the gallery and, for myself, looking at an artist’s work I am completely unfamiliar with.
My first reaction is a big smile, and half an hour later, the same.
Frank Morris’ current works, paintings of ‘lime putty and acrylic’ on cut-outs of mdf, feel as though the internal compositions evolved first, and the exterior shaping afterwards, but whether or not this is true doesn’t matter. They all remain lively under scrutiny: spatially ambiguous, each interior building up and collapsing at once, each containing forms that emerge and recede easily.
I am drawn especially to the more awkward shaped pieces. With their loose, rounded silhouettes they evoke stones, of which Frank is an avid collector, and manage to contain a space that is map-like and faceted at once. Paint is deep, matte colour. My partner declares them ‘too graphic’, the color ‘too easy’, and others might agree. I do not, and even fancifully wonder if Morris is channeling the unfamiliar vision of some rare insect that perceives landscape within a continually changing contour.
The stratified horizontal works, each made up of multiple panels, do not engage on the same level, possibly because they seem to resolve too quickly, but are beautiful nonetheless. The vertical one, “hum 1”, moves more, and I wonder if its’ evocation of trees somehow inherently suggests a shifting vantage point.
Ultimately, there’s no need to overly analyze this body of work. The lush surfaces and unique forms are enough said.
Chris says “the bus is leaving”, and we dutifully return to the car
hum 8 2011-2012’ and hum 9 2011-2012