Morgan Sims: New Paintings and Neon

Opening Reception: Saturday November 4, 2017 5-8pm

 Artist's Talk: Saturday December 16, 2017 4pm

Sim's recent geometric paintings start with ideas explored by 1970s hard-edge Op Art.

The distressed works provide an alternative to the pristine surfaces and clean solids of the pure Op Art tradition. They are modified and enhanced by the use of distressed and organically worked surfaces. Like his predecessors, he starts with a simple, geometric-shaped, linen canvas, and generates a dimensional illusion with line and color. Sims then avoids the temptation to seek perfection, instead introducing layers of striated color and texture that highlight a tension between the underlying geometry and the propensity towards decay of all physical objects.

The line works are studies in impure line work. Like the distressed paintings, they add a hand made quaility to the "perfection" of the geomtery; making them emotional as well as rational.

The drip paintings process and distort symbols and images into near abstraction, retaining just enough of the image to retain a rudimentary recognition. He thoughtfully extends the reach of methods such as pixillation, halftoning, and patterning through manual means which humanizes the painting so that there is a warmth and handmade quality.

Sims' neon works are concerned with the interaction of light, space, and color.