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Woodward Gallery presents Margaret Morrison ~ 'Larger Than Life'

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Written by rubin   
Saturday, 07 March 2009 06:53

Margaret Morrison - Lollipops, 2008 - Oil on canvas - 48 x 54 inches - Courtesy of Woodward Gallery, NYC

New York, NY - Margaret Morrison’s tantalizing new oil paintings evoke the magic of childhood, sending our mind skipping back to a time when life was easy and rewards were sweet. When we were small, the kind of sugary goodies that she depicts loomed large, were prized and frequently forbidden; for after all, the injunction to “eat your vegetables,” did not refer to candy corn, except of course on that one anarchic day each year when children rule: Halloween. On exhibition 7 March through 9 May, 2009 at Woodward Gallery, NYC.

Morrison’s jewel-like palette -- emerald, ruby, topaz – suggests that her motif is rare and precious. Witness her two gargantuan ring pops, and a quartet of gummy bears that resemble glowing, pre-Columbian statues. The thrust and swirls in Lollipops, reveals that still lifes may be far from still, but very much alive.

Margaret Morrison - Wax Lips, 2008 Oil on canvas - 28 x 58 inchesSome of the confections that she paints are hardy perennials: Hostess cream-filled cupcakes and cellophane-wrapped Christmas peppermints. Others, like the crimson trio depicted in Wax Lips, lounged in the limelight decades ago, before the noun "collagen" entered the popular lexicon. Now they're nostalgic artifacts from a bygone era.

Like the motifs she fancies, her paint-handling is delicious. Though her work could be compared to that of the California master, Wayne Thiebaud, she forgoes his elegantly iced surface and favors instead an adroit balance between opaque and transparent oil paint. Her luminous canvases recall Baroque antecedents, and they also reflect the truth of Charles Baudelaire's claim that "Genius is the ability to recapture childhood at will.” 

Margaret Morrison - Candy Jars 2008 - Oil on canvas - 64 x 72 in.Childhood icons loom larger than life in Margaret Morrison’s exciting, new body of oil paintings.  Each canvas harks back to a time when life was easy and a familiar treat was all we longed for.

The Artist has dual dexterity painting figurative, surreal subjects and still life images. Margaret Morrison is a professor at the University of Georgia.  She has been with Woodward Gallery for fifteen years. During this time, Morrison has had her work featured on television, the international news, and has been acclaimed in multiple critical reviews.  Morrison’s paintings are in private collections throughout the world and have been included in numerous museum and university exhibitions.

Her Larger Than Life series is a tour de force of color, subject and universal appeal.

Please join us for the opening reception Saturday, March 7th from 6-8pm. Economy Candy, Tootsie Roll and The Topps Company will be sponsoring the event!  Artist Margaret Morrison will be in attendance.

Woodward Gallery -133 Eldridge Street - New York, NY 10002 - 212 966 3411 phone - www.WoodwardGallery.net

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