James Morse uses the imagery of land as a language to explore emotions that arise fromcontemplating our existence. The universe, and our presence within it, is a mystery. Contemplating ourexistence gives rise to the full spectrum of emotion. That we exist at all is both joyful and terrifying,beautiful and hideous, constructive and destructive. Our existence is mystifyingly confusing whileessentially simple and easily understood. It is difficult to discuss such contradictory emotions withwords. Images and music explore and express feelings with an acuity that words do not.
Read MoreMorse's work is not intended to describe scenery the way that a photograph does. Instead, a visualrecord of thinking, feeling, and responding to the world emerges on the canvas. The passage of timeis evident in the careful mark making and craft-work that occur as a result of the artist Being-in-theworld. The paintings are built up, striving to look like something made of paint, so that there is noconfusion about the illusion of pictorial space. These are objects of emotional metaphor that respondto the ontological awareness that we exist, not reproductions of perceived beauty. The canvases showthe process of struggling to understand the space we exist within by retaining evidence of geometricgrids, the modification of composition and color choices, and the patina of thought and craftsmanshipas the artist works to comprehend existence within a world that we are somehow consciouslydetached from. In this sense, the paintings document the world's contemplation of the artist as muchas they record the artist's contemplation of the world, for they are one and the same.
