Morgan Corbitt

9.7.2024 - 11.9.2024

Morgan Corbitt (b. 1997, Los Angeles) is a San Francisco based painter. She probably wouldn’t want me to tell you that she’s also a highly prized studio assistant for two of the best artists working in the Bay but that’s too bad because she didn’t get me her official bio before I wrote this down. Plus I think the fact that she makes her living helping other artists says a lot about how much she enjoys actually doing the work. When I asked her once why she had painted something (always a dumb question) she responded “It looked difficult, I wanted to see if I could paint it” That seemed refreshing to me but maybe I just spend too much time around people who are so obsessed with finished products that they lose sight of the pleasures and challenges of labor.

The handful of paintings in this show are all born of the same process: photos are taken during the course of daily life, collages are made from those images, and paintings are made from those collages. The compositions are often rigidly byzantine with forms growing or shrinking based on their importance, relegated towards the margins or centered for dramatic effect. The forms themselves come from cellphone snaps and screenshots, poor images in a way that makes them feel more familiar but also uncanny when rendered in oil.

There will be an opening reception for the show on Sept 7th from 5-8pm.

Please find a pdf preview here