About the Exhibit - Hyperion

Ivan Morley’s exhibit, Hyperion, is on view at Bortolami Gallery’s lower level space in Tribeca from June 18th - July 31st, 2021.

This is the kind of exhibit that at first glance just looks like some nice paintings…but at closer inspection you come to realize they’re filled with texture and modern references. 

The exhibit's title - Hyperion, is inspired by Hyperion Avenue in LA which is where Morley’s longtime home is. The street divides two iconic neighborhoods in LA, Silver Lake and Los Feliz. Because of this, it represents a crossroads of cultures for the artist, both neighborhoods offering different types of inspiration that can be seen in the works. 

“My source material is still memories, but my relationship to history is an alternative one, which is still about the present in a poetic way rather than retrospective.”  - Ivan Morley for Elephant (source)

Morley creates his works by sewing them in embroidery thread with watercolor on canvas or painted on glass. He dampens the thread so that the watercolor underneath bleeds up through the surface. 

“There is a rich relationship between the work and the amount of time it takes for its creation” - Ivan Morley for Elephant (source)

This effect blurs the lines between tapestry and painting. Bortolami Gallery describes the work perfectly by saying “Their chromatic combinations surprise, evoking the ethos and immediacy of gestural painting despite their slow and methodical creation by sewing machine.”

It’s just incredible that these works were created on a sewing machine, and I love how the gallery included some snapshots of Morley in his studio.  

Video Walkthrough

To see a walkthrough of the exhibit, see the video below.

About the Artist - Ivan Morley

Ivan Morley is an American artist that lives and works in LA. He received his BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and his MFA from Art Center College of Design in California. 

While Morley is predominantly known as a painter, it’s obvious (in the works you see above) that his creativity expands far beyond what we traditionally think of as paint on canvas. 

“I am looking into an area between representation and abstraction, and this in-between area is interesting” - Ivan Morley for Elephant (source)

You can explore Morley’s website or Instagram for more information about the artist