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
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