The Yale School of Art to Show "Malcolm Morley: In a Nutshell"

Written by Jeremy Carruthers Sunday, 29 January 2012 00:13

New Haven, Connecticut. - Yale School of Art is proud to present "Malcolm Morley: In a Nutshell: The Fine Art of Painting", on view at the Edgewood Avenue gallery from January 31st through March 31st. The exhibition comprises fifteen paintings (including two painted installations being exhibited for the first time), seven watercolors, and a drawing, all selected from the expansive output of this paradigm-changing artist.Works in the exhibition range from large-scale canvases such as "Cristoforo Colombo" (1965), "Camels and Goats" (1980), and "Rat Tat Tat" (2001), to smaller sketches such as "Hollywood Film Stars and Homes Foldout" (1973) and back to the two new and previously unseen painted installations — "Biggles" and "The Spitfire" (both 2012).

The exhibition centers on the recurring themes of disaster and chaos in Morley’s oeuvre (forces symbolized by automotive mayhem, beleaguered boats, and speeding, crashing aircraft) while offering glimpses of its other more whimsical dimensions. Although he has refused to settle into any consistent style or follow any predictable path, Morley has nonetheless participated in or anticipated major art movements. Notably these associations include the precedent-setting example of his early 1960s “Photo-Realist” paintings (the artist preferred the label “Super Realist”), and his broad-brushed, image-dense canvases of the 1980s, frequently cited as precursors to “Neo-Expressionism” or “Bad Painting.” A fully illustrated catalogue of the exhibition, featuring an interview with Morley and an essay by the curator Robert Storr, is forthcoming. Mr. Morley will speak at the School of Art on January 30th.


Malcolm Morley was born in London in 1931, but moved to the United States in 1958, following completion of his studies at the Royal College of Art.  He has forged a unique path as an artist, creating a body of work that, while diverse and multifaceted, continues to reflect his childhood experience of the Blitz and the ensuing post-war era in London. In 1984, Morley was awarded the first-ever Turner Prize. His work is found in museum collections worldwide, including Tate, London; The Museum of Modern Art and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden and the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. It has been the subject of retrospectives at the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; the Hayward Gallery, London; and the Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami, Florida. In 1984, a solo exhibition, Malcolm Morley: Paintings, 1965–82, was organized by The Whitechapel Art Gallery in London and traveled to the Brooklyn Museum.

The Yale School of Art is one of twelve constituent schools of Yale University. It is a professional art school, granting only Masters of Fine Arts degrees to those completing studies in graphic design, painting/printmaking, photography, or sculpture. According to a 2003 survey "of deans and department chairs, one per school, at 213 master of fine arts programs" conducted by U.S. News & World Report, the School shares a number one ranking with the Rhode Island School of Design and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago for Masters of Fine Arts programs. Any student applying to the school must have an exceptional undergraduate record as well as a complete body of work for presentation. This is further followed by an essay and recommendations. The complete process for an applicant requires great preparation and the process must be completed in accordance with strict guidelines established by the school. The Yale Daily News reported on Thursday, February 1, 2007 that 1215 applicants for its class of 2009 sought admission to fifty-five places. The Yale Alumni Magazine reported in its November/December 2008 issue that the School admitted sixty-five from among 1142 applicants for its class of 2010, and that fifty-six of them enrolled. Established in 2009, the Yale School of Art’s 32 Edgewood Avenue Gallery of Art presents a year-round program of special exhibitions that bring examples of  vital contemporary art from around the world to New Haven. The School’s gallery at 1156 Chapel Street focuses on work by students, including both those in the School of Art and Yale undergraduates, as well as loan exhibitions curated by students and faculty. Visit the school's website at ... www.art.yale.edu

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