When Morgan Pease sits down and starts to create something, his end goal is to be a guide, to walk viewers through certain chapters of human life. One unique aspect of his artistic practice is his method of creating first and finding meaning for his work later. This in tandem with his mechanical finishing processes help others explore and question how day-to-day life events and memories shape the lives we currently lead.

I Search the Place for Your Lost Face, Mixed Media, 48 x 96”, 2017

Pease has been interested in drawing and painting for as long as he can remember, but he decided to pursue it seriously during college and get his BFA from the University of Minnesota Duluth. He graduated in 2009 and soon thereafter began showing his work.

That same year, he had his first solo show in Duluth. He wanted to get his work out to the public, so he submitted his work to galleries, design spaces, and more. This propelled him to participate in more than 40 shows from 2011 to 2013. During that time, Pease also decided to move from Duluth to be closer to the Twin Cities art scene. And in 2014, this helped him land a showing at Covet Consign and Design in the Twin Cities (now called Frank Modern).

When Pease found some free time in 2015, that’s when he began developing the first piece in the series he calls Mask. He went on to complete the series in 2017, culminating in his first solo show in Minneapolis, at Gamut Gallery.

We were all Dangerous Characters, acrylic, pastel, ink, & plaster; 12 x 16”; 2018

Mask, the artist explains, was a way for him to release some pent-up frustration. With this series, he began to experiment with different colors and materials.

“These paintings were continually changing, something that was a little different from my previous work and process,” Pease said.

Looking back, this series stood out because it didn't feel like his other work at the time, which was more design-based and methodical. He reflected on what these new pieces really meant; to him, they were his raw artistic vision. “I feel like my original work was simple and dialed in, but with this series I saw something new,” Pease said, “The [earlier] work was based on my ideas of the freedom of my childhood. Mask is my visual embodiment of personal insecurities in today’s political and social landscape.” He would build up layers of vibrant paint splatters and seal them with gloss, resin, or polyurethane. The final touch and injection of personality to the collection was a masking technique, covering up everything except little triangles of color with matte white paint.

In the dark, rank, mysterious nighttime grass, acrylic, oil, pastels, & ink; 20” x 24”; 2018

What he is working on now is the next stage, the evolution of that series. He has more than 30 paintings in process at his warm weather studio. Just as the seasons change, Pease switches up where he works as well. His cold weather studio is smaller; thus the winter months are when he works on smaller pieces. His warm weather studio is much bigger, almost like a woodshop.

“This whole winter I’ve been using pastels, pencils, ink, and I started drawing more,” Pease said. With his newer paintings, he is working on incorporating more color and mixing in new materials such as plaster, latex, and vinyl.

Pease is currently showing work at The Hive Salon in Minneapolis through September. He also has a solo show planned for August at Gallery 360. He notes that the work he will be showing in August will differ from Mask.

“My work, for me, is as much about learning and experimenting during the creation process as it is about the thoughts and themes I am trying to suggest.”

Nothing’s, like, unhealthy at Chipotle (detail), acrylic, ink, pastels, plaster, oil, & latex; 24 x 24”; 2018

You can see Morgan Pease’s work currently at The Hive Salon through September 30th. For more about the artist’s work, visit morganpease.com.

Kathleen Sapien

Articles by Kathleen Sapien

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