The Royal Drawing School’s new virtual series exploring the theme of Artists in Isolation, past, present and future curated by Dr Claudia Tobin. The series features artists, curators, writers and museum directors in discussion every Wednesday throughout the Summer Term.

Mark Cazalet and Sarah Pickstone give us a glimpse into their studios and reflect on their artistic practice in lockdown, the challenges of working with limited materials and the new subjects they’ve found.

Date & time
7pm
24 June 2020

Location
Online with Zoom

Speaker
Mark Cazalet
Sarah Pickstone

Gallerist Serena Morton discusses work and inspirations with the artist, Paul Vanstone at his exhibition at Serena Morton Gallery

Filmed by Damian Raynes and in collaboration with The Galleries Association.

Dear Friends and Collectors,

With these newsletters I try to support artists and for your entertainment raise issues to provoke thought. I am interested in education and discussion and I believe that creativity helps to balance the toxicity of the mainstream.

One of the most common things people say to me is that they don’t know anything about art and this makes them insecure to voice their opinion. I like to address this matter and often we enter into a discussion about who dictates taste and if it is a reason why people have lost confidence in their own personal assessment. The art market, is highly leveraged by significant funding and PR teams. This in turn supports a narrow circle of invested curators, galleries, collectors, foundations and museums, all very much focused on money and prestige. It is no wonder that people feel confused when much of what they are looking at is sophisticated marketing and
an intimidating cartel of players.

A knowledge of art history undoubtedly helps one to understand why a particular artist breaks ground however the simple experience of enjoying art is not to be underestimated and is free for all. You don’t have to understand the mechanics of the art market to enjoy and own art. The experience is there for you to personalise. There are many good reasons to collect art, you met the artist, it reminds you of a happy moment, you want something to add value to your home or because it makes you feel emotion. You should avoid collecting art unless you feel passionate about it!

Often in the gallery visitors discuss what makes for a good eye. It’s a big conversation but a great tip is to know that you can train your eye. You could do this by looking at a large body of art. Visit museums and galleries, stand in front of many paintings and sculpture and really focus on the subject. Read about artists and take a moment to consider their often extraordinary lives. Instant media has destroyed our attention span and dulled our senses, so determine to engage and observe what happens.
I humbly suggest that this might lead to a memorable experience, the gradual training of your eye and the beginning of a healthy new obsession!
Stay well and I do hope to see you soon.

Serena Morton

21 April 2020

Dear Friends and Collectors,

I hope you are well and had an enjoyable Easter break.

This week the newsletter focuses on fine art photographer Stoney Darkstone and his inaugural exhibition Liminal, scheduled for September 2020.
Darkstone has no wish to talk about himself. Even his name is anonymous. He firmly states that his work does not reflect his life journey or a philosophy, but is simply a creative expression. If it gives pleasure to the viewer, then that is a bonus.

We have attached the Press Release for Stoney’s forthcoming exhibition and here you can glean a little more. Also, do please click on the link to access the edited price list of available work, if you can’t wait until September!

With my very best wishes

Serena

Serena Morton

Dear Friends and Collectors,

In this week’s newsletter my focus is on the artist Orlando Campbell.

The plan is to re-open the gallery with an exhibition that celebrates some of the best of British qualities. Camp- bell’s works are cool, intelligent, playful, entertaining and definitely audacious!

This is art to cheer you up.

We are scheduled to re-open in June and I shall keep you informed as the situation becomes clearer in the coming weeks.

Until then you can by appointment, take a skype tour of current works in the gallery. If you would be interested in a single person walkaround of the gallery in person, do get in contact via info@serenamorton.com and we can see what could be arranged on a case by case basis.

Better days await.

Serena

Serena Morton

Dear Friends and Collectors,

I am thinking of you all.

Despite the continuing restrictions, in mid-April, I plan to introduce painting into the ongoing Paul Vanstone sculpture curation, adding a selection of Bruce French archive paintings.

The gallery had to close its physical doors, but I live in the building so I continue to be onsite daily. I photograph the installations and take collectors on virtual tours via skype or facetime.

I would like to ask you collectors and friends for a little help. Please kindly think about supporting the many artists I champion by referring this gallery to your friends. They can sign up to the mailing list and these newsletters via info@serenamorton.com. Positive referrals are powerful and would be greatly appreciated.

In addition, if you are thinking about collecting a work, please know that you can always stagger the cost by paying for a piece by monthly direct debits. Many artists, both current and past, can be viewed on my website. If you are interested in an artist, just let me know and I can report back with what they or I have in our stock rooms, with no added sales pressure!

I had the great pleasure of working with Bruce French on his first solo painting exhibition, Looking Through A Window, in 2007.

It was clear to everyone who saw this standout show that French is a serious talent and it is fantastic to be working with him again.

The paintings I have brought out of his archive span a period of 2012-2015. I thought it would be interesting to revisit this group of works as currently he is working with sculpture. You can read more about Bruce French on his website at brucefrench.info.

I look forward to seeing you all soon,

Serena Morton

Dear Collectors & Friends,

My thoughts are with you, your colleagues and family during this hugely challenging time.
Like everybody, the arts community is experiencing major disruption. Studios have had to close; gallery exhibitions postponed, art fairs and museum shows all impacted. In response to this I have taken the opportunity to create a weekly newsletter which I hope will put a positive focus on individual gallery artists.
The aim is to provide future exhibition dates, review the artist biographies and update you with a little of their news. There will also be images of their new work and sometimes a look into their studios. I hope this will be entertaining and create a sense of creative community until we can get back to a semblance of normal life.

Spending more time working from home, may allow you an opportunity to consider adding an artwork to your interior or diversifying your portfolio, as a long term investment. When the stock market is erratic, moving to contemporary art is a great strategy. Your asset is secure, has the potential to remain stable or increase in value and in addition you can enjoy the hugely uplifting experience of living with it!

If you would like to discuss how to get started on building an art collection please do not hesitate to contact me on info@serenamorton.com. I can help you source some wonderful art within your budget.

I do hope you will enjoy the weekly newsletter.

With my very best wishes to you all,

Serena Morton

Taking its title from the Luna Park funfair in Coney Island, New York, this show is a collection of vibrant, dynamic abstract paintings which make manifest an exultation of gestural abstraction – a place where unworldly energies reverberate and tussle.

‘To delve into the souls of Cézanne and Kahlo, Elwes recreated the original arrangement of furniture and atmosphere in their studios. To research how the buildings that were occupied by these artistic luminaries looked in their day, Elwes scrutinised photographs and books, as well as their own paintings’ The Notting Hill and Holland Park Magazine

‘His striking work is typified by luminous paint textures, giving his canvases an ethereal quality’ The Notting Hill and Holland Park Magazine

‘Barker’s work is figurative but multilayered. Not only is Sugar and Water a cultural exploration, it highlights the aesthetic beauty of its context’ Absolutley Notting Hill

‘Hunter Barnes is the kind of artist you’d be dealing with if you were to merge Jack Kerouac’s beat poet thirst for the road with the early 20th Century photographer Edward S. Curtis’ obsessive drive to document marginalized communities across the great expanse of the American landscape.’ Paper

‘Hunter Barnes is one of the most significant documentary photographers working in America today.’ L’Oeil de la Photographie

‘This is a very special visual account and the journey that Hunter’s photographs take the viewer on, and the people he encounters on the way, will live long in the memory.’ artdaily.org

‘These rare and candid images strip back the celebrity persona to show a thoughtful, focused and determined fighter. Few photographers got as close to the boxer behind the legend.’ BJP

‘Simon captures, on the faces of those who met Ali, the dumbstruck awe and joy that he was able to bring forth.’ The New Yorker

‘The legendary Village Voice photographer captured the best of Manhattan’s nightlife.’ Vogue

‘Bill Bernstein’s striking images of 70s clubland illustrate disco’s glamour and decadence.’ The Guardian

‘38 years on, his photos plunge us back into the epicentre of that heady musical epoch.’ The Independent

‘While there have been subsequent books from other photographers, none have captured New York disco in all its glorious diversity quite like Bernstein.’ Jocks & Nerds

‘Remarkable documentation by the Magnum photographer.’
Time Out

‘A legendary photojournalist and one of the first American members of Magnum, Burt Glinn is synonymous with the Cuban Revolution. Photographing it as it happened, his pictures embody the jubilation, fervour and chaos of those historical moments.’ Black & White Photography

‘Incredible photographs of the Cuban Revolution as it unfolded.’
Art Rabbit

‘Billy caught the energy of the Factory scene, but also its sense of sanctuary – a place where the freaks and outsiders could merge with the glamorous under the democratic gaze of Andy’s Super 8’ Sean O’Hagan, The Guardian

Link to article

Serena Morton will be producing an exhibition for Colin in London this September. More information to follow…

Serena is proud to be supporting Chris Moon’s exhibition:

REVERIE BY CHRIS MOON
3rd-13th October 2012
Londonewcastle Project Space,
Redchurch Street London E2 7DP

READ THE DAZED INTERVIEW WITH CHRIS|+Femen+Boot+Camp+|+Dolce+%26+Gabbana+SS13&utm_campaign=20120925_m113556110_Dazed+September+Playlist+|+Femen+Boot+Camp+|+Dolce+%26+Gabbana+SS13&utm_term=Chris+Moon_3A+Reverie

View Article

Download PDF

View article

Download PDF

Download PDF

Watch Now

Le Modalogue

From JUNE 9th DUKE OF YORK HQ, KINGS ROAD, CHELSEA, LONDON SW3 4SQ

Agent Morton show continues at Agent Morton:
Monday June 13th to Saturday June 18th

Watch Video on YouTube

Watch Video on YouTube

‘Many late afternoons during Autumn and Winter, I watched the sun going down a blood red abstract disc, which inclined me to see premonitions of great time passing and of our sun one day becoming a red dwarf – as if to show so vividly time passing in micro and macro dimensions which could animate my landscape into charged tableaux of transience, and vulnerability in my own and mankind’s existence. I feel that the tragedy of time has never been more pronounced than now’.

Peter Lewis paints the landscape of the Carmarthenshire countryside. The work is transported between a shed on the edge of the forest and the studio attached to his farmhouse where appraisal takes place. The paintings are then divided into themed series gleaned from this way of working. Each canvas depends on a gestation period of months and sometimes years to complete. The landscape is not so much a viewing spot as a site for meditation.

Download PDF

A celebratory exhibition of the work of American artist Jeffrey Kroll entitled ‘TEN’ will open with a private view in June, 2011 at the SAATCHI GALLERY and then continue at Agent Morton.

The exhibition will offer highlights of the artist’s work spanning the last ten years, the period in which he has continually exhibited in London. Arresting and dramatic, the works, created in the abstract tradition, will range from those that have graced galleries across the world including the Louvre in Paris, as well as new works going on view for the first time. This exhibition has been made possible with kind support from the ‘Dickerman Overseas’ company.

In Jeffrey Kroll’s brillantly bold work, where one is immediately struck by the vibrancy and intensity of colour, we find subtle forms, built up layer upon layer . His swirling and dynamic brushstrokes are checked and balanced by clean geometric elements. We have the impression of an object; the feeling of movement and we are conscious of a deep internal process, producing an intense spiritual visualisation.

Kroll stands apart from our collective pre-occupation with concept over craft. He paints in a contemporary style, yet retains a debt of gratitude to the great Modernist artists of the 20th Century, such as Kandinsky and refers to the development of Cubism and the Orphism movement in particular the work of Robert Delaunay. The energetic work of Italian Futurists such as Umberto Boccioni, Carolo Carr’ and Giacomo Balla resonates loudly.

Indeed Jeffrey has a veritable love affair with Italy, spending summers in the radiant light of Tuscany. For him it is ‘la boca buono’ ‘ the good mouth, a culinary term, which can represent the Italian ideal of taste, beauty and perfection. The spirit of ‘La Dolce Vita’ lives and breathes within his work.

Of the exhibition Kroll said: ‘I am delighted to be given the opportunity to share ten years of my work with my London audience who have been hugely appreciative and supportive. The paintings going on display will give an insight into the passion that drives my work; an essence that is never satisfied; in the words of Rilke ‘ the painter should not become conscious of his insights; his advances, enigmatic even to himself, must enter so swiftly into the work that he is unable to recognise them at their moment of transition’ I give you moments of transition!’

In this exhibition viewers will be able to trace the changing aspects of Kroll’s work. He never dictates, but offers a breathtaking insight into what is possible, beyond the sphere of modern reality. Instead of indulging in the complexities of social fear, panic and destruction, his work uplifts, resulting in a form of inviting, vibrant, colourful, living, breathing escapism that one cannot fail to draw strength from.

Always unique in style, Kroll’s flamboyant layers of meaning and colour exude the canvas in a way that can only be described as breathtaking. Dramatic in their presence, they have certainly and without doubt won their faithful place in the history of modern day art.

View article

The Queen: 60 Images for 60 Years
Scottish Royal Academy, Edinburgh June – September 2011
Ulster Museum, Northern Ireland: October 2011 – January 2012
National Museum Wales: February – May 2012
National Portrait Gallery, London: 17 May – 21 October 2012

Morton Metropolis website

BBC London

View

View

View

Harpers Bazaar website

He put the spotlight on Robbie Williams, Coldplay and Lily Allen, and now music man Raye Cosbert gives us Amy Winehouse; hoovering.

The Rehab songstrel’s manager adds another string to his bow next month as his brand new art gallery – Morton Metropolis – launches with an exhibition from pop-art legend Gerald Laing.

Including Kate Moss gone abstract, Brigitte Bardot getting a serious close-up and George Bush fronting a doomed landscape, and exploring themes of celebrity, media and politics, the controversial collection has already struck a chord with the art world.

Contemporary-art queen Serena Morton co-owns and curates, so expect more thought-provoking talent where that came from; with Rupert Shrive, Stuart Semple and Damien Elwes hot on Laing’s heels, Morton Metropolis has certainly got off on the right foot.

Morton Metropolis, 41 – 42 Berners Street, London W1T 3ND, opens on February 10th, with Gerald Laing’s exhibition running until February 24th.

View

Londoner’s Diary, Evening Standard

POP-UP gallery Agent Morton is generating greater buzz than a flight of bees over its Rupert Shrive exhibition. The artist, who had his first solo UK show at the Scream Gallery in 2007 and took Paris by storm last November, has a reputation for tearing up tradition ‘ literally. “He creates the most exquisitely beautiful flat portraits,“ explains his London agent and gallerist Serena Morton. “Then he practically destroys them to make these incredible, almost 3D works ‘ or ‘2 and a half D’ as we call them.“ Shrive’s current show is running at a private viewing room in Wetherby Gardens in South Kensington until the end of the month.

A preview was given in July which was seen by an enraptured 10,000 people.