Margaret Morrison | Objects of Desire Catalogue

Woodward Gallery

Woodward Gallery 3 0 t h A n n i v e r s a r y | 1 9 9 4 - 2 0 2 4 | N YC 132A Eldridge Street, ground floor, New York, NY, 10002 T: 212.966.3411 E: Art@WoodwardGallery.net By appointment only WoodwardGallery.net Woodward_Gallery WoodwardGalleryArt WoodwardGallNYC Woodward Gallery

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December 2023 - February 2024 at DOWNTOWN ASSOCIATION | 60 Pine Street, 3rd Floor, NYC

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MARGARET MORRISON

OBJECTS OF DESIRE December 2023 - February 2024 Downtown Association 60 Pine Street, 3rd Floor, NYC Woodward Gallery celebrates this Winter Season with Margaret Morrison’s newest one-woman exhibition, Objects of Desire, marking the gallery’s return to its secondary location and launching its 30th Anniversary year! Oil paintings, some previously exhibited in museums around the world, are gathered for this solo exhibition, together for the very first time.

Tuscany is Margaret Morrison’s second home and place of great inspiration.

Nearly every summer, Morrison wanders through the antique markets of Arezzo, Cortona, and Lucca, Italy searching for inspiration. She often finds tables laden with sumptuous offerings of silver, crystal, and collectibles. Morrison explains that there are tables piled high with forgotten trinkets and discarded items that fascinate her with their accidental beauty.

Monumental paintings from her Antiques series inspired by these observations will premiere in Objects of Desire.

Margaret Morrison’s oil paintings are so realistic that they appear to be photographs. Her large-scale works are chock full of detail to behold. Shiny treasures reflect within one another or glisten with sugary lusciousness in her unique table settings.

Considering life from a child’s point of view, Morrison believes that life becomes mysterious and magical all over again.

Previously featured at the Art in Embassy program, in Tel Aviv, Israel, and at the NYU Kimmel Vitrines in Manhattan, New York, larger-than-life marbles from her joyous Playtime series will be presented as part of Objects of Desire.

Morrison’s decadent sweet treats have been featured at the Imperial Centre Museum, in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.

Lightheartedly, Margaret Morrison blames her father for her sweet tooth. She recalls her youth time family visits to the drive-in movie theater including ritual stops at the local drug store where her father would purchase several bags of candy. She vividly remembers the shiny wrappers, the seductive packaging, and the incalculable thrill of sweet pleasure. Indulge in delights from this Candy series, premiering in New York City for Objects of Desire.

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7 Signals of Love, 2018 Oil on canvas 54 x 54 in; 137.2 x 137.2 cm Signed lower left

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7 Signals of Love, detail

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For The Birds, 2020 Oil on canvas 36 x 36 in; 91.4 x 91.4 cm Signed lower right

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For The Birds, detail

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Cacophony, 2020 Oil on canvas 36 x 36 in; 91.4 x 91.4 cm Signed lower left

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Cacophony, detail

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Porcelain Sage, 2022 Oil on canvas 40 x 40 in; 101.6 x 101.6 cm Signed on verso

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Porcelain Sage, detail

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Opera Omnia, 2021 Oil on canvas 108 x 84 in; 274.3 x 213.4 cm Signed lower right

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Menagerie, 2021 Oil on canvas 72 x 60 in; 192.9 x 152.4 cm Signed lower left

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Menagerie, detail

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Reliquia, 2020 Oil on canvas 36 x 36 in; 91.4 x 91.4 cm Signed lower right

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Reliquia, detail

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Cristallo, 2022 Oil on canvas 108 x 84 in; 274.3 x 213.4 cm Signed lower right

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“In terms of method, I am a direct painter; I paint wet into wet right on the canvas without a preliminary drawing or a grisaille under-painting. I actually throw a lot of paint down, sometimes straight from the tube. Nothing shuts me down faster than a pristine, white canvas, so I cover the entire canvas with paint right away. It helps me to see if the piece is holding together from the start and establishes a visual language that I can hang the rest of the painting on.

In the midst of painting, I become completely immersed in analyzing colors, shapes, values; soft versus hard or lost edges. I stop naming “things” and completely tune into a wordless frame of mind. I work from general to specific, dark up to light, with the last move being the highlight, the icing on the cake…such a satisfying moment.

On close inspection, I’m engaged with abstraction. Upon taking a step back, the pieces coalesce and form a whole… that’s when the magic happens. I’ve also found that the faster I paint the better my decisions become. I silence the little voice in my head and simply learn to trust my eyes. Transparency and reflections are incredibly fascinating to paint!

The majority of the time I stand while working, which allows me the freedom to pace around and to step back to check the “gestalt.” I probably log a few miles a day just pacing up and back as I paint.”Margaret Morrison, 2023

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Charmed, 2023 Oil on canvas 12 x 12 in; 274.3 x 213.4 cm Signed lower right

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Charmed, detail

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Shooters, 2015 Oil on canvas 48 x 58 in; 121.9 x 147.3 cm Signed lower right

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Shooters, detail

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Cat’s Eyes, 2011 Oil on canvas 48 x 90 in; 121.9 x 228.6 cm Signed on verso

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Cat ’s Eyes, detail

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Red 40, 2017 Oil on canvas 48 x 52 in; 121.9 x 132.1 cm Signed lower right

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Red 40, detail

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EXHIBITION LIST 7 Signals of Love, 2018 Oil on canvas 54 x 54 in; 137.2 x 137.2 cm Signed lower left

Cristallo, 2022 Oil on canvas 108 x 84 in; 274.3 x 213.4 cm Signed lower right

For The Birds, 2020 Oil on canvas 36 x 36 in; 91.4 x 91.4 cm Signed lower right

Charmed, 2023 Oil on canvas 12 x 12 in; 274.3 x 213.4 cm Signed lower right

Cacophony, 2020 Oil on canvas 36 x 36 in; 91.4 x 91.4 cm Signed lower left

Shooters, 2015 Oil on canvas 48 x 58 in; 121.9 x 147.3 cm Signed lower right

Porcelain Sage, 2022 Oil on canvas 40 x 40 in; 101.6 x 101.6 cm Signed on verso

Cat’s Eyes, 2011 Oil on canvas 48 x 90 in; 121.9 x 228.6 cm Signed on verso

Opera Omnia, 2021 Oil on canvas 108 x 84 in; 274.3 x 213.4 cm Signed lower right

Red 40, 2017 Oil on canvas 48 x 52 in; 121.9 x 132.1 cm Signed lower right

Menagerie, 2021 Oil on canvas 72 x 60 in; 192.9 x 152.4 cm Signed lower left Reliquia, 2020 Oil on canvas 36 x 36 in; 91.4 x 91.4 cm Signed lower right

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MARGARET MORRISON Education 1988 1981

MFA, University of Utah.

BFA, University of Utah.

Selected Exhibitions 2024 2024-2023 2024-2022

2023 2022

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Eyes on the Road, Group, Petersen Automotive MUSEUM, Los Angeles, CA. Objects of Desire, Woodward Gallery, NYC. Highlighting Contemporary Art in Georgia | Picture This, Group, organized by the Georgia MUSEUM of Art and the Lyndon House Arts Center. Exhibition Travelling to: Lyndon House Arts Center, Athens, GA, June – September, 2022; Illges Gallery at Columbus State University, Columbus, GA, October – November, 2022; Albany MUSEUM of Art, Albany, GA, December 2022 – March 2023; LaGrange Art MUSEUM, LaGrange, GA, April – July, 2023; MUSEUM of Arts and Sciences, Macon, GA, August – October, 2023; Morris MUSEUM of Art, Augusta, GA, November, 2023 – April, 2024.

Paradigm Shift, Lyndon House Art Center, MUSEUM, Athens, GA. 86th National Midyear Exhibition, Awarded Best In Show, Group, Guest Curator William Underwood Eiland, Director of the Georgia MUSEUM of Art, The Butler Institute of American Art, MUSEUM, Youngstown, OH. New in 22, Group, Woodward Gallery, NYC. Gathered V, Group, MUSEUM of Contemporary Art/ MOCA GA, Atlanta, GA. À La Carte, Group, Abroms- Engel Institute for the Visual Arts, MUSEUM, Birmingham, AL. Margaret Morrison, The Georgia MUSEUM of Art, Athens, GA. Margaret Morrison: Home, Woodward Gallery, NYC. UGA Cortona - La Mostra! 2019, Dodd Galleries, University of Georgia, Athens, GA. Faculty Exhibition: All Together Now, Dodd Galleries, University of Georgia, Athens, GA. SEDICIM XVI, Group, including works by Willem de Kooning, Andy Warhol, Franz Kline, Paul Gauguin, Richard Hambleton and others at the Down Town Association, 60 Pine Street, Woodward Gallery, NYC. 73

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Lyndon House 44th Juried Exhibition, Lyndon House Art Center, Athens, GA. Juried

by Lauren Haynes, curator of Contemporary Art at Crystal Bridges MUSEUM of American Art. Margaret Morrison Baby Boomer Lunch Box Series, Gourmet Garage, SoHo, presented by Woodward Gallery, NYC. Down Town Summer Salon, Group, Down Town Association, 60 Pine Street, presented by Woodward Gallery, NYC. Margaret Morrison Sweet Surrender, Maria V. Howard MUSEUM, Imperial Center for the Arts, Rocky Mount, NC. Sweet Tooth: The Art of Dessert, Shelburne MUSEUM, Shelburne, VT. Margaret Morrison: Tablewares, Woodward Gallery, NYC. Introducing Woodward Gallery Windows, Margaret Morrison, Richard Hambleton, Brad Robson, Woodward Gallery, NYC. Storytelling, Celebration of the Georgia Review’s 70th Anniversary, The Georgia MUSEUM of Art, Athens, GA. Fall Salon, Group, Woodward Gallery, NYC. Director’s Choice Artists, Oconee County Arts Foundation, Oconee, GA. Spectra: Faculty Exhibition, Dodd Galleries, University of Georgia, Athens, GA. Playtime - Margaret Morrison, Kimmel Center NYU/ New York University, NYC. Both Ways, Margaret Morrison and Susan Breen, Woodward Gallery, NYC. UConn Reads: Inspired by the Omnivore’s Dilemma,”The William Benton MUSEUM of Art, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT. Sweet Sensations, The William Benton MUSEUM of Art at University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT. Face to Face: Wall to Wall, Yellowstone Art MUSEUM, Billings, MT. Margaret Morrison featured in the United Nation’s Art in Embassies Program, Tel Aviv Embassy, Tel Aviv, Israel.

Margaret Morrison: Child’s Play, Woodward Gallery, NYC. Margaret Morrison: Trick or Treat Paintings, Gourmet Garage, SoHo, presented by Woodward Gallery, NYC. Margaret Morrison Still Life: Breaking New Ground, Flinn Gallery, Greenwich, CT. Spectacle: Paintings by Margaret Morrison, Roy C. Moore Art Gallery at Gainesville State College, Oakwood, GA. Margaret Morrison: Flower Paintings, Lobby of the Four Seasons Restaurant, 99 East 52nd Street, organized and curated by Director John Woodward, Woodward Gallery, NYC. Still Life, Flinn Gallery, Greenwich Library, Greenwich, CT. 74

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Margaret Morrison: Sweet & Sexy, Gourmet Garage, SoHo, presented by Woodward Gallery, NYC. Margaret Morrison: A Survey, Lobby of ICM/ International Creative Management Agency curated by Director John Woodward, Woodward Gallery, NYC Margaret Morrison: Larger Than Life, Woodward Gallery, NYC Margaret Morrison: Director’s Choice, Curated by Director Joe Ruiz, Oconee Cultural Arts Foundation, Watkinsville, GA. Faculty Exhibition, Group, Lamar Dodd School of Art, University of Georgia, Athens, GA. Works on Paper, Group, Woodward Gallery at the Park Avenue Armory, NYC. Free Play, Group, Curated by Judith Page, Islip Art MUSEUM, East Islip, NY. Visual Noise, Group, University Memorial Center (UMC) Art Gallery, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO. Margaret Morrison: Large Still Life Paintings, Gourmet Garage, SoHo presented by Woodward Gallery, NYC. Margaret Morrison: The Power of Observation- a Retrospective of Paintings, University of Georgia, Broad Street Gallery, Athens, GA. Write A Beautiful World Group, National Arts Club, NYC. Winter Paper Seven, Group, including works on paper by Jean Michel Basquiat, Alexander Calder, Richard Estes, Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Tom Wesselmann, and others, Woodward Gallery, NYC Margaret Morrison: Patron Saints and Rituals, Woodward Gallery, NYC. Margaret Morrison: Still-Lifes Gourmet Garage, SoHo, presented by Woodward Gallery, NYC. The Art of Restoring Lives-to Benefit Wears Valley Ranch, Featured Artist, Atlanta, GA. Margaret Morrison: Centricity, Woodward Gallery, NYC. Paper Invitational VI, Group, including works on paper by Andy Warhol, Robert Indiana, Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein and others; Woodward Gallery, NYC Georgia Review Artists, Group, Mercury Fine Arts, Athens, GA. Museum Auction and Gala, Huntsville MUSEUM of Art, Huntsville, AL. Paper Invitational V, Group, including works on paper by Andy Warhol, Robert Indiana, Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein and others; Woodward Gallery, NYC. Paper Invitational IV, Group, including works on paper by Ellsworth Kelly, Keith Haring, Robert Rauschenberg, and others; Woodward Gallery, NYC. Margaret Morrison STILL/David Febland LIFE, Woodward Gallery, NYC. Margaret Morrison: The Theory of Flight and Painting, Woodward Gallery, NYC. Paper Invitational III, Group, including works on paper by Basquiat, Keith Haring, 75

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Robert Indiana, Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Motherwell, Betty Parsons, Andy Warhol and others; Woodward Gallery, NYC. Femalenergy II, Group, Leading Woman Artists, Woodward Gallery, NYC. Paper Invitational II, Group, including works on paper by Keith Haring, Robert Indiana, Robert Motherwell, Roy Lichtenstein, Leon Polk Smith, Andy Warhol, and others; Woodward Gallery, NYC. Paper Invitational, Group, including works on paper by Alexander Calder, M.C. Escher, Sam Francis, Keith Haring, Jasper Johns, Knox Martin, Andy Warhol, and others; Woodward Gallery, NYC. Margaret Morrison: American Life, Woodward Gallery, NYC. Margaret Morrison, Gallery at the Roundabout in Times Square in collaboration with Woodward Gallery, NYC. Margaret Morrison: Prophesy Paintings, Woodward Gallery, NYC. Artifacts, Pleiades Gallery, New York, NY. Three Artists, GOLA/ Woodward Gallery, NYC. A Moment Before, Monongalia Art Center, Morgantown, WV. Margaret Morrison: Figurative Paintings, Atrium Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT. University of Utah Faculty Exhibit, Group, Utah MUSEUM of Fine Arts, Salt Lake City, UT. Utah Painting and Sculpture, Traveling exhibition sponsored by the Utah Arts Council, UT. Utah ‘88 Painting and Sculpture, Salt Lake Art Center, MUSEUM, Salt Lake City, UT. The Medium is The Message, Bountiful-Davis Art Center, MUSEUM, Bountiful, UT. Margaret Morrison: Paintings and Drawings, Gittins Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT. Works on Paper, Juried by Robert Henning, Jr., Chief Curator of the Santa Barbara MUSEUM of Art, Salt Lake Art Center, Salt Lake City, UT. Works on Paper, Juried by Robert Henning Jr., Chief Curator of the Santa Barbara MUSEUM of Art, Juror Award and Utah Arts Council Purchase Award, Salt Lake Art Center, Salt Lake City, UT. AAVA Utah Women Artists,” Group, Utah MUSEUM of Fine Arts, Salt Lake City, UT. Utah ‘82, Group, Utah MUSEUM of Fine Arts, Salt Lake City, UT. Competition, Group, Bountiful-Davis Art Center, MUSEUM, Bountiful, UT. 132A Eldridge Street, Ground Floor, New York, NY 10002 T: 212.966.3411 E: Art@WoodwardGallery.net By appointment only WoodwardGallery.net

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December 2023 - February 2024 at DOWNTOWN ASSOCIATION | 60 Pine Street, 3rd Floor, NYC

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Woodward Gallery 3 0 t h A n n i v e r s a r y | 1 9 9 4 - 2 0 2 4 | N YC 132A Eldridge Street, ground floor, New York, NY, 10002 T: 212.966.3411 E: Art@WoodwardGallery.net By appointment only WoodwardGallery.net Woodward_Gallery WoodwardGalleryArt WoodwardGallNYC Woodward Gallery

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