MATT MORRIS

Matt Morris is a mixed media artist who explores relationships between nature and technology. In his most recent work this combination of media is presented as a photographic print in order to blur the distinction between perception and reality. Morris spent a decade living in Bavaria and continues to be influenced by the art and architecture of central Europe. He is motivated by environmental events and cultural issues.

Morris has had solo exhibitions in Los Angeles, Paris, and Hamburg. While in southern California, he was awarded the Los Angeles Artcore prize by Roland Reiss. Since returning to Louisiana in 2008, Morris has worked as an adjunct professor at Louisiana State University and Baton Rouge Community College.

Artist Member since 2009

Bachelors of Fine Arts, Louisiana State University

Masters of Fine Arts (Painting, Photography & Printmaking), San Diego State University

UPCOMING EHIBITION

AUGUST 29 - SEPTEMBER 27

(PRO)FOUND OBJECTS

ARTIST STATEMENT

These photographs are made in camera. In other words, they are neither Photoshop composites nor images generated by artificial intelligence. You can think of them simply as still lifes. Any background scenery you see consists of my original photographs, that I cast onto the still life using a projector. There are some painted areas, and sometimes cut paper which is out of view of the lens to create cast shadows. But everything is ultimately captured as you see it here, resulting in a kind of tableau. I think of it as making paintings with the camera.

With a background in painting and mixed media, I approach photography like an assemblage. The ideas often begin with a found object, which then interacts with other props to suggest narratives or fables - sometimes as cultural commentary, sometimes as markers of our time. At the heart of each story is typically a dynamic between nature and technology (technology which is often obsolete, or at least should be). This tension reflects the uneasy conditions of the present - our dependence on technological systems and the consequences of the progress they promise.