Harry Morgan | Echo | 5 - 29 April 2017 | online catalogue

HARRY MORGAN ECHO

HARRY MORGAN ECHO 5 - 29 April 2017

The Scottish Gallery is delighted to showcase the first solo presentation from visual artist Harry Morgan.

Harry Morgan currently works from his studio within Custom House Leith, Edinburgh. Originally from Manchester, Harry gained a 1st Class BA (Hons) degree in Glass from Edinburgh College of Art in 2014. Since graduating, Harry has exhibited at the 2015 British Glass Biennale in Stourbridge, where he was awarded the London Glassblowing Award for Emerging Talent. His work has already been exhibited widely throughout both the UK and internationally.

Interested in the intrinsic ‘personalities’ of materials and their capacity to represent ideas, Harry’s current work explores the conflicting relationship between concrete and glass.

Enigma, 2017 concrete and glass H78 x W32 x D32 cms £6,400 Photo: Shannon Tofts

Enigma (detail), 2017 concrete and glass H78 x W32 x D32 cms ÂŁ6,400 Photo: Shannon Tofts

‘If materials contain history and meaning in their nature, then these ideas are embedded in objects. Echo displays a collection of objects that explores the relationship of materials through contrast. Despite being composed of the same elements, glass and concrete appear as conflicting materials.

With unclear borders and internal dimension, glass reflects ambiguity and intangibility. In sharp contrast, concrete is brutally physical; the word itself is used to describe absolutes and certainties. Both materials have strong social, cultural and polarised connotations; from the sumptuous history of Venetian glass to the utopian concrete of post-war Brutalism.

The use of glass in my work draws inspiration from the ancient Venetian glassblowing technique, murrine; where each rod or thread of glass is individually pulled by hand from a furnace The glass is then arranged into a sequential structure and cast within concrete or precious metal, which binds them as one object. I’m interested in applying these traditional skills in alternative directions.’

Blue Column, 2017 concrete and glass H38 x W17 x D17 cms £2,300 Photo: Shannon Tofts

Blue Box, 2017 concrete and glass H40 x W30 x D12 cms £2,300 Photo: Shannon Tofts Felike van der Leest in her studio in Øystese, Norway

Blue Box (detail), 2017 concrete and glass H40 x W30 x D12 cms £2,300 Photo: Shannon Tofts

Above: A glimpse into the making of White Flux II. The process of casting nickel silver into a mould lined with hand-pulled rods of glass.

White Flux II, 2017 glass and nickel silver H22 x W24 x D14 cms ÂŁ3,200 Photo: Shannon Tofts

Pyrophylite, 2017 concrete and glass H120 x W65 x D20 cms ÂŁ15,000 Photo: Shannon Tofts Available to commission in a varying number of components

Created in collaboration with Jon Gray, Pyrophylite is composed of 14 fine sections of concrete combined with rods of glass. This piece can be designed and created using a varying number of components.

The title Pyrophylite references naturally occurring sheet forming silicates - or sand.

Jon Gray (born 1971) studied painting at Edinburgh College of Art. His work is known for its innovative application of materials, in particular concrete, produced in his Edinburgh based workshop.

The Morgan/Gray collaboration began in early 2016, utilising Gray’s concrete technology alongside Morgan’s signature glass threads to create the Pyrophylite hanging sculpture series; a playful and peculiar take on a brutalist chandelier.

HARRY MORGAN b.1990 Harry Morgan is originally from Manchester but now lives and works in Edinburgh.

In 2014, he gained a 1st Class BA (Hons) degree in Glass from Edinburgh College of Art. During his undergraduate course, he took part in the international exchange programme and spent six months studying at the Australian National University, Canberra.

His work has already been exhibited widely throughout both the UK and internationally and The Scottish Gallery is his first solo presentation.

Selected Awards: 2016

Graduate Craft Award, Inches Carr Scottish Craft Awards

2015

London Glassblowers’ Award for Emerging Talent at the British Glass Biennale

2014

New Designers Contemporary Glass Society Associate Prize

2014

Bruntnell-Astley UK Student Award

2013

The Scottish Glass Society New Exhibitor Award

Left: Harry Morgan in his Edinburgh studio, 2017 Photo: Shannon Tofts, courtesy of Crafts Magazine

HARRY MORGAN ECHO

Published by The Scottish Gallery to coincide with the exhibition: HARRY MORGAN ECHO 5 - 29 April 2017 All rights reserved. No part of this catalogue may be reproduced in any form by print, photocopy or by any other means, without the permission of the copyright holders and of the publishers.