Artist Statement
Aaron Morse’s paintings explore the expressive potential of abstract texture to inquire into the relationship between our perceptual categories and the imaginary sphere. His works provide the viewers with a multilayered experience capable of walking them into the liminal area in which the subconscious level establishes a symbiosis between the conscious sphere. Drawing from universal imagery, Morse triggers both memory and imagination, to speak of emotions and a variety of feelings, creating a compelling narrative.
Background
Aaron Morse’s eclectic background has been, and continues to be, a major factor in his success as an artist. As well as his painting, he has worked in a psychiatric hospital and an emergency room in addition to being a singer, songwriter, guitarist and world traveler
A University of Vermont graduate, Morse has driven cross-country four times and visited nineteen countries. He’s lived in Australia, Hawaii, Portland, OR, and Brooklyn. He has released two CDs and had his art displayed in galleries around the Northeast.
“Traveling has been a part of my artistic and spiritual development,” says Morse. “When you see different countries and cultures, these experiences are bound to get inside you and influence you artistically.”
After graduating from the University of Vermont, he eventually moved back to Western Massachusetts, settling in Northampton, where he met many local artists and started getting serious about painting. “I cleaned out my basement and created a studio,” says Morse. “I was able to focus on art in my free time, experiment, and develop a style of my own.”
Morse has always been interested in drawing and painting but his passion for art really came to the fore when, in his early 20s, he inherited a professional paint set from his grandmother. “It was two suitcases filled with all kinds paint and brushes,” he recalls. “I started working on wooden boards and used canvases.”
Now he’s focusing on his abstract painting, using acrylics and gels on large canvases. His work combines dazzling color combinations with engaging textures.
“The way I’m using acrylics is unique,” he says. “It has taken a couple of years to expand on my technique, but now I’ve gotten the craft figured out. I’ve learned how to mix with gels and glosses, and I have many different methods for applying paint to a canvas. It really depends on my mood and what a piece requires.”
Morse is currently working as a Physician Assistant in an Emergency Room in Western Mass and maintaining a three-day per week work schedule, which enables him to continue his real labor of love: abstract painting.
“I honestly feel I have something to offer with my painting,” he says. “I’d like to continue to display my work in galleries around the Northeast and get more involved in the art community.”
