Mali Morris

In Mali Morris’ work, the artist’s hand is at the forefront of the canvas. While she paints fundamental geometric forms as a base for her paintings and works on paper, Morris is direct with her touch and meticulous in her colour relationships. Here, the artist’s presence and agency become evident.  Morris’ oeuvre juxtaposes universally recognised shapes with the artist’s unrestricted paint application. Squares, circles, and brushed marks occupy the surfaces of her compositions in complex spatial painterly layers.

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Angelas (2011) emphasises the dichotomy between planes of suggested geometric shapes and a loosely painted, amorphous ground. Morris playfully superimposes translucent, hard-edged squares over opaque, gestural brushstrokes. As a result, the canvas emits light, activating the ground and creating a dynamic  between open, cloud-like marks and more rigid shapes. The interplay of colours with  varying levels of opacity offers an opportunity to read the painting on multiple planes.

Traheme (2) (2013) and Surfaced Later (4) (2010) both feature circles cleared from a top layer of wet paint. Their contrasting colours bounce across the surface, adding an essential vitality to the work. Luminosity flows from the free-formed brushstrokes to the excavated circles, further pronouncing the painting’s bright colour palette. 

Rose and Combing (2004-05) and Golden Clearing (2003) highlight a softer, rose-shaped form taking centre stage, discovered by clearing away paint to reveal the colour beneath. Boldly reaching to each side of the piece, the form appears ever-expansive, as if it were actively stretching to reach its full scale. 

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In other pieces, Morris brings a dance of space with contrasting forms in a play of differing scales and transparencies.  Three with Green (2020) and Creekside (2) (2020) are two examples where the background consists of untouched white paper.  Translucent, sinuously painted brushmarks move across the surface, interrupted in a precise rhythm by sharp accents of colour. Acrylic, by nature, is fast-drying yet durable, allowing for both immediacy and deliberation. This is a characteristic combination in Morris’ work as she inventively explores the possibilities of paint and pictorial structures to find luminosity, rhythm and ever-shifting space.   

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