An Edinburgh art gallery has announced details of a new exhibition of work from Jack Morrocco, one of Scotland’s most notable and collectable contemporary artists.
Touchstones opens in Morningside Gallery on Saturday 24 October, and includes 47 new paintings from the renowned artist. Over 50 years since his artistic journey began at art college, this will be Jack’s sixth solo exhibition at Morningside Gallery and will span his full range of subject matter.
Unlike many of his contemporaries, Jack has never settled into a single style with which to anchor his work, but there have been some constant touchstones – particular locations, the transformative effects of light, and treasured objects to which he returns for inspiration.
Jack has long been drawn back to certain places – Venice, the South of France and the Mediterranean – where something of their character strikes a chord with his own.
After a year of travel, research and hard work in the studio, these locations re-appear in this exhibition to off er something timeless and enduring within the present.
Light is perhaps the most constant of Morrocco’s touchstones and he continues to seek out the moment when light transforms an everyday scene.
The places may be familiar, but changing light recasts them, making the well-known new again and connecting Jack to the painters he most admires – Monet and the Impressionists.
Other touchstones are found closer to home, within the studio itself. Objects collected over a lifetime enter Jack’s still life paintings and become part of an ongoing visual conversation.
Jack Morrocco said, “Touchstones and tangents describe the cyclical nature of my work. Each time I return to the comfort zone I tend to spin off on a different path energised or inspired by a different experience and, as a consequence, new subjects and styles emerge.”
Eileadh Swan, director of Morningside Gallery said, “We’re really looking forward to welcoming Jack back to the gallery for his sixth solo exhibition here in Morningside.
“It will be particularly special to see Jack’s paintings in our new-look space, following our extensive renovations over the summer. The theme is relevant here too, with a touchstone offering something constant against which change can be recognised.
“Jack’s subjects and influences provide points of connection between past and present, memory and experience, the artist he was and the artist he continues to become.”
Based at Church Hill in Morningside, the newly-renovated gallery will display 47 new paintings for the exhibition, which can also be viewed online at morningsidegallery.co.uk and toured as a virtual exhibition for anyone who can’t make it to Edinburgh.
The exhibition will run in the gallery from Saturday 24 October – Sunday 8 November, and is open to the public.
