1 painting : Serigraph (silkscreen) ; in frame: 85 cm x 70 cm; work: 74 cm x 58.5 cm
Notes:
"To view clock on "Access Content Now" above." Michael Morris is an interdisciplinary artist, curator, and educator. He contributed greatly to development of the Canadian West Coast art scene during the 1960s. Inspired by the Fluxus Mail-art movement and other avant-garde artists, Morris explored the connections between art and written communication through his paintings and prints in the late 60s. The title of this silkscreen, “For Ernst Jandl” refers to an Austrian writer and poet who was a member of the Wiener Gruppe, an avant-garde circle of European modernists. Jandl gained recognition in America as a master of experimental poetry and performance. Michael Morris was born in 1942 in Saltdean, England, and moved to Canada at the age of 4. He began his study in art with lessons from Herbert Siebner, a German Expressionist painter from Berlin. Morris continued his education at university, taking his first year in Victoria before transferring to the Vancouver School of Art (now Emily Carr Institute of Art + Design). He studied painting with several masters of abstraction: Jack Shadbolt, Roy Kiyooka and Don Jarvis. In 1964, Morris received a Commonwealth Scholarship to attend the Slade School of Fine Art at London University, England, where he was influenced by the Fluxus movement. Returning to Canada, Morris served as acting curator at Vancouver Art Gallery in 1966; and from 1967-70 he also organized art events and exhibitions at the Simon Fraser University Art Gallery. In 1969, Morris and Vincent Trasov co-founded “Image Bank”, a conceptual vehicle for mail art projects, featuring collaborations with Eric Metcalfe, Gary Lee Nova, Ray Johnson, General Idea, and Robert Filliou. In 1973, Morris co-founded the Western Front, one of Canada’s first artist-run centers, serving as co-director until 1980. Known primarily as an abstract painter and printmaker, Morris has also worked in film, photography, video, installation, and performance; and participated in artist-in-residence programs in Canada: (Banff Centre 1990; Open Studio, 2003); and internationally: (Berlin Kustlerprogramm, Germany, 1981-1998). Morris was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humanities (2005) by Emily Carr University of Art + Design, the Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts (2011), and the Audain Prize for Lifetime Achievement in the Visual Arts (2015). Morris currently lives and works in Victoria, British Columbia. His artwork is held in numerous collections internationally
