Margaret Morrison · Paradigm Shift

MARGARET MORRISON

Paradigm Shift

Woodward Gallery

established 1994

132A Eldridge Street, Ground Floor, New York, NY 10002

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Margaret Morrison Paradigm Shift

LYNDON HOUSE ARTS CENTER

June 8 - September 1, 2023

211 Hoyt Street, Athens, GA 30601. accgov.com/lyndonhouse

In 2017, Professor Margaret Morrison proposed a Faculty Research Grant to UGA’s Willson Center for the project, Contemporary Examination of Caravaggio’s Dramatic Staging and Lighting - A Collaboration between Painting and Theatre.   This project resulted in a series of paintings investigating Caravaggio’s use of theatrical light.  Morrison and her collaborator, Professor Anthony Marotta of the UGA Department of Theatre and Film Studies, explored various methods of stage choreography for the purpose of photographing and collecting reference images.  Marotta and Morrison discussed how to include the theater students in the project and in response; Morrison created a script for Marotta and his students.   This resulted in an extemporaneous stage performance directed by Marotta and documented by photographer, Gabrielle Rosenthal.  The resulting collaboration provided Margaret Morrison with exceptional reference material for this new body of work entitled, Paradigm Shift.  This suite of ten large oil paintings on canvas describes various stages of enlightenment from an awakening to transcendence.

Installation Image, Paradigm Shift

Margaret Morrison Paradigm Shift

As a fifth generation Mormon, I grew up on faith promoting stories of my ancestors who left everything behind to build a new Zion in the wilderness of the American West. This faithful narrative of Mormonism’s founding was unblemished, spiritually uplifting and literally a part of my DNA. If there was any aspect of our history or practice that gave me consternation, I placed it on my metaphorical shelf to be dealt with later.

Then everything changed. In the early 2000s, an enormous treasure trove of historical documents, letters, and journals from Mormon history flooded the internet. The Church could no longer be the gatekeeper, withholding the unsavory and salacious moments in its history. As I voraciously read everything that I could get my hands on, it became apparent that the tidy “faithful narrative” that I had been raised to believe in did not exist. In actuality, it was raw, messy and filled with sexual intrigue. My “shelf” was instantly shattered into a million pieces. I was devastated and angry. In the past there had been such comfort in the notion of a perfect church. Where was that to be found now? How was I to process this flood of distressing and unsettling information? Should I divorce myself from my faith tradition like so many others were doing? I was plunged into the most painful experience of my life and it was exhausting physically, emotionally and spiritually.

Slowly, very slowly, I began to pull away from my anger and disillusionment to make room for a new paradigm. I explored the idea that a “perfect” church could not possibly exist, that the leaders that I had grown up revering as near perfect were flawed and exhibited the very same weaknesses common to all humankind. With this new-found cathartic insight, I no longer felt the pressure to outwardly conform. Instead, I turned inward and rekindled a deeper, more personal spirituality. I sifted through the ruins of my faith tradition and found the pieces that resonated with me. As I rebuilt, I began to experience deeper spiritual connections, a true sense of transcendence in my search for the Divine.

My Paradigm Shift Series springs from the devastating sense of loss I felt when my belief in the “faith-promoting” history of Mormonism imploded, forcing me to build a new, and infinitely deeper spiritual foundation. The narrative in each painting traces the arc of my journey from naïve believer, passing through cataclysmic destruction and terrible sadness, finally arriving at the reclamation of my inner peace and a closer connection to God.

- Margaret Morrison

Margaret Morrison in her studio

Installation Image, Paradigm Shift

Paradigm Shift

Detail, Doubt

DOUBT, 2018

Oil on canvas

40 x 40 inches ; 101.6 x 101.6 cm

Signed lower left

Margaret Morrison

Installation Image, Paradigm Shift

Margaret Morrison

FOLLOWERS, 2022

Oil on canvas

60 x 72 inches; 152.4 x 182.9 cm

Signed lower right

Detail, Followers

Detail, Constructing the Myth

Margaret Morrison

Constructing the Myth, 2022

Oil on canvas

60 x 72 inches; 152.4 x 182.9 cm

Signed lower right

Margaret Morrison PROCESSIONAL, 2022

Oil on canvas

60 x 72 inches; 152.4 x 182.9 cm

Signed lower right

FREE FALL, 2022

Oil on canvas

72 x 60 inches; 182.9 x 152.4 cm

Signed lower right

Margaret Morrison

Margaret Morrison

LIMBO, 2022

Oil on canvas

48 x 60 inches; 121.9 x 152.4 cm

Signed lower left

Detail, Lost Saints

Lost Saints, 2022

Oil on canvas

60 x 48 inches; 152.4 x 121.9 cm

Signed lower left

Margaret Morrison

Margaret Morrison

transcendence, 2020

Oil on canvas

60 x 48 inches; 152.4 x 121.9 cm

Signed on verso

Detail, Outside the Walls

Margaret Morrison

Outside the Walls, 2023

Oil on canvas

60 x 48 inches; 152.4 x 121.9 cm

Signed lower left

Margaret Morrison

East of Eden, 2023

Oil on canvas

48 x 60 inches; 121.9 x 152.4 cm

Signed lower left

Detail, East of Eden

Margaret Morrison Paradigm Shift

EXHIBITION LIST

Doubt, 2018 Oil on canvas;

40 x 40 inches ; 101.6 x 101.6 cm

Signed lower left

Followers, 2022 Oil on canvas;

60 x 72 inches; 152.4 x 182.9 cm

Signed lower right

Constructing The Myth, 2022 Oil on canvas;

60 x 72 inches; 152.4 x 182.9 cm

Signed lower right

Processional, 2023 Oil on canvas;

60 x 72 inches; 152.4 x 182.9 cm

Signed lower right

Free Fall, 2022 Oil on canvas;

72 x 60 inches; 182.9 x 152.4 cm

Signed lower right

Limbo, 2022 Oil on canvas;

48 x 60 inches; 121.9 x 152.4 cm

Signed lower left

Lost Saints, 2022 Oil on canvas;

60 x 48 inches; 152.4 x 121.9 cm

Signed lower left

Transcendence, 2020 Oil on canvas;

60 x 48 inches; 152.4 x 121.9 cm

Signed on verso

Outside the Walls, 2023 Oil on canvas;

60 x 48 inches; 152.4 x 121.9 cm

Signed lower left

East of Eden, 2023

Oil on canvas

48 x 60 inches; 121.9 x 152.4 cm

Signed lower left

Woodward Gallery

established 1994

Margaret Morrison

Education

1988 MFA, University of Utah.

1981 BFA, University of Utah. Selected Exhibitions

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.

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.

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, 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.

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