Biography: 

Shaun Morris is a painter and printmaker whose work is an attempt to depict an alternative landscape of contemporary Britain, one that explores the often overlooked physical and psychological spaces that we often pass through or occupy. The resulting artwork is a conflicting dialogue between the traditions of romanticised landscape painting and the failed existential ideals of the Modernist movement. Shortlisted for the Jerwood Drawing Prize, he has exhibited widely including the Surface Gallery, Nottingham; The Atkinson Gallery in Somerset; Nuneaton Museum and Art Gallery; Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, and the Asylum Gallery in Wolverhampton. Shaun has undertaken residencies in Norway and Denmark, but prefers to draw inspiration from much closer to home, either in his native Black Country or from the surrounding streets where he lives. His work has been featured in Artist’s Newsletter, The Coventry Telegraph, and on BBC Radio. He has undertaken several commissions, including ones for Sandwell Council, Bradford City Council and Birmingham City Council, and has received major grants from Arts Council England and a Longhouse Action Research Grant. Shaun was a founding director of the Arts in Health organisation ‘Open Art’ in West Yorkshire, and is a director and creative contributor of Indigo Octagon Projects, which specialises in designing and publishing artist’s catalogues and fanzines. Shaun has an MA in Fine Art, Painting, from Norwich School of Art and Design (1995), and has work in private and public collections in the UK and overseas. Shaun has lectured in Fine Art at various universities and arts organisations across the UK, and is currently a lecturer in Fine Art in Birmingham. 

Education:

1994-1995 Master of Arts Degree in Fine Art, Painting, Norwich School of Art And Design

1990-1993 BA (Hons) Degree in Fine Art, Painting, University of Sunderland

Exhibitions:

Mar 2019 'Quiet Signs', Asylum Gallery, Wolverhampton

October 2018 'Hauntology', Asylum Gallery, Wolverhampton

Sep 2018 'Visions Of A Free Floating Island', Surface Gallery, Nottingham

May- June 2018 'Just A Liitle Bit Back From The Main Road', Evesham Arts Centre, Worcestershire 

Dec-Feb 2017 'Highway Anxiety', The Moseley Exchange, Birmingham 

Sep 2016 'A Minor Place', The Artists Workhouse Gallery, Studley

Jan 2016 'The Lie Of The Land' (Solo Show), Artrix Arts Centre, Worcestershire

Oct-Dec 2015 Solo Show, Cupola Gallery, Sheffield

Dec-Jan 2015 Delicious, Cupola Gallery, Sheffield

Oct-Feb 2015 West Midlands Open 2014, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery

Aug- Oct 2014 Cupola Gallery, Sheffield

Aug 2014 Spirit of Place, Ragley Hall Gallery, Warwickshire

Jan- Mar 2014 Black Highway (solo show), Nuneaton Museum and Art Gallery

Oct 2013 By The Way, Group Exhibition, BoHunk Space, Nottingham

July 2013 Worcester Open 2013, Worcester Museum and Art Gallery

Jun 2013 Park View Gallery, Birmingham

Feb 2013 Stolen Car (solo show) Floor One Gallery, Rugby Museum and Art Gallery

Nov 2012 ‘If a Picture Can Paint A Thousand Words Then Why Can’t I Paint’, The Works Gallery, Birmingham

Jul-Sep 2012 Summer Open Exhibition, The Public, West Bromwich

Jul-Sep 2011 Summer Open Exhibition, The Public, West Bromwich

Sep-Dec 2011Tregoning Gallery, Derby

Aug-Sep 2010 In A Certain Light (solo show), Art In Empty Spaces, Queens Square Shopping Centre, West Bromwich

Oct 2009 Thirteen (solo show), Bessant Gallery, Wolverhampton University

Sep 2009 Artists Access to Art Colleges Exhibition, Wolverhampton University

Jul-Sep 2008 West Midlands Open 2008, Wolverhampton Art Gallery

Jul 2008 RBSA Open Portrait Competition, RBSA Gallery, Birmingham

Jun- Sep 2008 Seek My Face (solo show), The Public, West Bromwich

Feb 2008 Seek My Face (solo show), West Bromwich Town Hall

Jan-Feb 2007 Birmingham Open, Gas Hall, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery

Nov 2006 Paintings (solo show), Artrix Arts Centre, Bromsgrove

Apr 2006 Work Will Set You Free/St Francis (solo show), The Balcony Gallery, Lighthouse Media Centre, Wolverhampton

Oct 2005 Animal, Vegetable, Mineral, Periscope, Birmingham

2004, Jan- Feb Meat and Potatoes (solo show), The Living Gallery, Stourbridge

2003 Sep- Mar 2004 The Jerwood Drawing Prize, touring exhibition to Jerwood Space, London; Cheltenham and Gloucester University; Lincoln University, Hull campus; Rennie Macintosh Gallery, Glasgow School of Art; The Lowry, Manchester.

2003, Oct Snared, The Harborne Gallery, Birmingham

2003. May Mid ART 2003, Himley Hall, Staffs

2002, Jul- Aug Lessons Learned (solo show), Floor One, Rugby Museum and Art Gallery

2001, Dec JAM, The Works Gallery, Birmingham

2000, May Odyssey, The Hutchinson Gallery, Bishop Auckland

1999, Dec The Birmingham Art and Film Forum, The Works Gallery, Birmingham

1999, Jul Local Derby ( Shaun Morris vs Andrew Page), Gallery 96, Cambridge

1998, Dec 21 Years of WASPs, The Patriothall Gallery, Edinburgh

1998, Aug Festival Folio, The Gallery at West Park Place, Edinburgh

1998, May Artists in Arms, British Red Cross Touring Exhibition Raising Landmine Awareness touring venues in Edinburgh, Cardiff and London

1997, Nov Shaun Morris, The Atkinson Gallery, Millfield, Street, Somerset

1997, Aug Heroes and Villains (solo show), Eastthorpe Gallery, Mirfield, West Yorkshire

1996, Jul Arrival Time (solo show), The Foyer Gallery, LBT Theatre, Huddersfield

1996, Jan-Feb The Ida Branson Bequest ’96 (Artists of Promise Under 30), The Atkinson Gallery, Millfield, Street, Somerset

1995, Oct Works on Paper (solo show), The Swan Gallery, Suffolk

1995, Sep Diver Sity, The Norwich Gallery, Norwich

1995, Jul The Norfolk and Norwich Visual Arts Festival, various venues, Norwich

1995, Mar Currents, The Contact Gallery, Norwich

 

Articles and Reviews

Birmingham Mail; Metro; Coventry Telegraph: ‘Seeing The M6 In A New Light, Jan 2014; BBC Black Country Online: ‘Seek My Face’, Feb 2008; Birmingham Post; feature, ‘Seek My Face, Feb 2008; Black Country Bugle; feature, ‘Spotting A Face You Know…’, Feb 2008; Black Country Evening Mail; Feature, ‘Facing Up To Shaun’s Display’, Feb 2008; Express and Star: feature, ‘Artist Painting the Town Through Faces’, Feb 2008; Express and Star: feature, ‘Meat and Potatoes’ exhibition, Jan 2004; Stourbridge News, ‘Acclaimed Artist Exhibits in Stourbridge’, Jan 2004; Catalogue: ‘The Jerwood Drawing Prize 2003’, Jerwood Foundation; Christopher Bamford: Review-‘Odyssey’, artists Newsletter, July 2000; BBC Look East: feature, ‘Local Derby’ Exhibition, July 2000; BBC Local Radio: Interview and Feature: ‘Local Derby’, Nov 1997; David Hammond: review and interview- ‘Heroes and Villains’ exhibition, The Yorkshire Evening Post, May 1997; David Hammond: review- ‘Bold Scenes of City Nightclubs’, The Huddersfield Examiner, Jul 1996; Catalogue: ‘The Ida Branson Bequest ‘96’ exhibition; Alan Tabelin: review- ‘Scenes of Night Life In the North’, Lowestoft Journal, Oct 1995; Simon Orr: interview and feature-‘Sunday Arts Review’, BBC radio Norfolk; Catalogue: ‘Diver Sity’ Exhibition, The Norwich Gallery; Feature: ‘First Student Show at The Contact Gallery’, Eastern Daily Press, Mar 1995

Commissions and Awards:

2012-14 Grant For The Arts Award, Arts Council England

2008 Joseph Chamberlain Sixth Form College, Birmingham

2007-08 Sandwell Partnership and Multistory

2006 Longhouse Action Research Commission

1997 West Yorkshire Health Authority

1995 Bradford City Council

1995 Kirklees Cultural Services

1995 Kirklees Community Development Service

Collections:

Sandwell Arts Trust, West Bromwich

Sandwell Council House, Oldbury

Charlemont Community Centre, Sandwell

Stoney Lane Day Centre, West Bromwich

Phoenix Collegiate School, West Bromwich,

Sandwell College, West Bromwich

The British Red Cross

various private collections in the UK and overseas

Gallery Representation:

Cupola Gallery, Sheffield

Park View Art Gallery, Birmingham