Catalogue for Jack Morrocco's solo exhibition at Morningside Gallery October 2022
JACK MORROCCO THE LANGUAGE OF LIGHT
MORNINGSIDE GALLERY
JACK MORROCCO
22ND OCT-6TH NOV 2022 THE LANGUAGE OF LIGHT
MORNINGSIDE GALLERY
N O T E S :
All paintings are for sale and may be purchased or reserved upon receipt of this catalogue. We kindly request that decisions on reserves are made by 10am on Friday the 21st of October. Please contact us if you would like further images of a painting or to arrange an in-gallery or virtual viewing appointment prior to the exhibition opening.
Painting sizes are width x height and include the frame.
THE LANGUAGE OF LIGHT A SOLO EXHIBITION
Anyone familiar with Jack Morrocco’s work will know him as an artist who seeks out the light, finding inspiration where generations of artists have found inspiration before him; in the South of France, Spain and Italy. Light is Jack’s pictorial language, the means through which he translates the scenes before him into paintings that resonate for the viewer. These are paintings which speak of light effects - the dappled light through plane trees and the luminous shafts of light between buildings - but they also awaken feelings and memories, evoking that sense of really being there, and calling upon all of our senses at once to recall or imagine the essence of a place. Perhaps there is nothing particularly ground-breaking about an artist choosing to pay close attention to the way light falls upon the world. But then Jack is not attempting to be ground-breaking, or novel. The language of light is also the language of Impressionism and Jack seeks continuity with this tradition and its values, actively joining the longue durée of its conversation and making his own veritable contribution in the present. That the language of light is spoken by others past and present, makes Jack’s own voice no less singular and his artistic vision no less his own; the originality is in his interpretation. Light has a timeless character, as old as the world itself, born anew each day and able through its momentary changes to reveal beauty in the mundane and transform its subject time and time again. The still waters of Venetian canals are transfigured by the early morning or evening light to reveal almost mirror like reflections. The simple French courtyard is given new life by the dappled light of the afternoon and the café becomes a stage for sunlit characters to enjoy their own sense of place. Each of Jack’s paintings communicate exquisitely this transfigurative quality of light – light’s ability to beautifully recast its subject anew - and in this sense the language of light is as old and as new today as it ever was.
Eileadh Swan Gallery Director
INTRODUCTION
As a painter it is important to have something to say and the task then becomes finding a way to say it. In even simpler terms, deciding what to paint and how to paint. So you’d think by my age that I would have figured all that out long ago and be content with a ”style” that suited my subjects however that has never been the case for me. Until 2005 I was predominantly a studio painter involved mainly with figurative work and still life, never having reacted to the landscape around me, Scotland having been famously described as “grey, green and badly lit”. It was with some surprise therefore that I found myself eager to say something about a landscape which had been the subject of so many other painters’ work, so all I had to do was figure out how to say it – and then I saw the light… literally! It’s true what they say about the south of France: it has a particular quality of light. Painters over the years have made the journey south to discover for themselves what attracted Van Gogh, Monet, Renoir, Matisse, Derain, Picasso and even our own Scottish Colourists. They all found something unique about the light and the environment which added to their work and the way they worked. I too made the journey and was inspired to start painting landscape as a result, making the south of France my second home and studio. But is not just the south of France that can boast a definitive quality of light. In my experience most of the Mediterranean European countries have their own unique light qualities. It’s difficult to know whether it might be as simple as the sun being more directly overhead or that the strength of sunlight reflected from ground and buildings make the shade more luminous. Whatever the reason the effect is that the sky seems bluer, the colours stronger and the contrast more intense. The combination of factors might include dappled light through plane trees or shafts of light between buildings all contributing to a sense of time and place, a sense of being there. In my work I strive to capture the essence of that quality of light and environment developing a pictorial language to describe not just the scene but the feeling of the place – that sense of being there. The subject can be quite simple: the bend in a canal, a modest street café or a morning market but it is the effect of the light falling and reflecting that becomes the real subject. My work has become more about finding that language and using it to translate what is seen into a picture which evokes a memory or highlights an effect, to say something about the subject that connects with the viewer by recognition or even shared memory. It is an invitation to read the language and understand the pictorial story with all its abbreviations and punctuations.
I hope you like what I have to say in this exhibition.
Jack Morrocco DA, FRSA
SPA I N
I was delighted to be back in Spain again this year and my travels started with a return trip to Madrid, which in turn started with a return trip to Museo de Sorolla. It is the former home and studio of the Spanish painter of the late 19th and early 20th century Joaquin Sorolla and fascinating in its own right before considering the wonderful garden which houses some of his collection of sculpture. His work reminds me of that of John Singer Sargent and they have in common that, whilst there were tectonic shifts in the art world during their lifetimes, they both continued on painting in a figurative representational manner. As the art world continues to change I feel a certain connection with that philosophy, albeit a hundred years later. I thought it was appropriate to attempt a painting of Sorolla’s garden to echo what must have been his own view, with the light filtering through foliage surrounding a tiled pond and sculpture fountain.
The Garden at Museo de Sorolla, Madrid Oil on Canvas | 122 x 96 cm | £11250
Café Harmonia, Madrid Oil on Canvas | 71 x 71 cm | £6500
Figures on a Bridge, Park El Retiro, Madrid Oil on Canvas | 82 x 82 cm | £7950
FRANCE
France was for many years a second home for me and my studio in the South became a base to explore the villages and towns that have attracted painters for generations. It’s true what they say about the quality of the light but I would add a quality of life that makes the entire environment so special. This year my Spanish journey became a French journey having travelled north through Rioja to Bilbao and San Sebastian and onward through Biarritz to Bordeaux and finally up to Paris. When last in Paris I promised myself that I would spend some more time in the Jardin du Luxembourg which has the feeling of being unchanged in centuries. Whereas the sunlight in the south of France is filtered by the ubiquitous plane trees, the parks of Paris have their chestnut trees creating a similar but unique dappled shade which can be seen in the wonderfully named Café la Terrasse de Madame and Fontaine de Medicis.
La Fontaine de Medicis, Jardin du Luxembourg Oil on Canvas | 97 x 82 cm | £9250
Café La Terrasse de Madame, Jardin du Luxembourg Oil on Canvas | 123 x 72 cm | £9250
Café de Flore, Paris Oil on Canvas 72 x 72 cm | £6500
Waiting for an Ice Cream, Jardin du Luxembourg Oil on Canvas | 62 x 62 cm | £5250
L’Annexe Ile de la Cite, Paris Oil on Canvas | 57 x 57 cm | £4250
Café, Le Nemour, Paris Oil on Canvas | 62 x 62 cm | £5250
A stroll through the Jardin des Tuilleries produced an unexpected delight when I came across the old pond boats barrow. I remember these boats from when I was a boy visiting Paris and I am thrilled to see, in the age of the X Box, they are still here and still being enjoyed by another generation of children. My painting of Les Petits Bateaux pays tribute to this enduring scene.
Les Petits Bateaux, Jardin de Tuileries, Paris Oil on Canvas | 72 x 82 cm | £6850
Tourtour, Provence Oil on Canvas | 123 x 72 cm | £9250
Place aux Herbes, Uzes Oil on Canvas | 123 x 72 cm | £9250
La Place, St Paul de Vence Oil on Canvas | 77 x 77 cm | £6950
Dappled Evening Light, Aix en Provence Oil on Canvas | 82 x 82 cm | £7950
Market Day, Frejus Oil on Board | 51 x 51 cm | £3250
Morning Market, Frejus Oil on Board | 51 x 51 cm | £3250
Place de l’Hotel de Ville, Aix en Provence Oil on Canvas | 112 x 82 cm | £9500
Beach Day, Biarritz Oil on Canvas | 38 x 33 cm | £2750
Surf’s Up, Biarritz Oil on Canvas | 38 x 33 cm | £2750
Sunny Day, St Tropez Oil on Canvas | 62 x 62 cm | £5250
Quayside, St Tropez Oil on Canvas | 62 x 62 cm | £5250
Bar Le Sport, St Tropez Oil on Canvas | 67 x 57 cm | £5250
I TALY
It is perhaps the timeless qualities of cities such as Venice, Lucca and even areas of Rome together with smaller villages like Portofino that attract my eye, the built environment and daily life seeming almost unchanged over hundreds of years. The country that gives names to so much of my palette – Venetian Red, Raw Sienna, Burnt Umber and Terra Rosa – holds a special place in my “half Italian” heart. And, perhaps I’m just a sucker for punishment, but it is the same difficulty that attracts me to painting silverware and glassware in my traditional still life work, that attracts me to the shimmering reflections of the canals of Venice.
La Piazetta from the Canal Oil on Canvas | 67 x 67 cm | £5750
Santa Maria della Salute, Evening Light Oil on Canvas | 57 x 57 cm | £4250
Evening Sun, Mercato del Pesce (study) Oil on Canvas | 51 x 46 cm | £3000
Pizzeria, Piazza Navona, Rome Oil on Canvas | 51 x 51 cm | £3250
Ristorante, Piazza Navona , Rome Oil on Canvas | 62 x 62 cm | £5250
Riva del Vin, Venice Oil on Canvas | 77 x 62 cm | £5950
Rio de San Trovaso, Venice Oil on Canvas | 72 x 72 cm | £6500
Greengrocer’s Barge, Rio Barnaba, Venice Oil on Canvas | 57 x 57 cm | £4250
Fonterutoli, Chianti, Tuscany Oil on Canvas | 77 x 77 cm | £6950
Boatyard, Porto San Stefano Oil on Canvas | 51 x 46 cm | £3000
WATERLILIES
Having studied waterlilies as a subject for over four years now I am just beginning to understand what Monet found so fascinating. The interplay of two visual planes, the vertical almost two dimensional reflection with the horizontal defined by the lily pads, teases the eye into believing in a three dimensional space. The lily pads themselves can be almost iridescent and form infinitely varied abstract patterns. I took advantage of my stay in Paris this year for a long overdue visit to Giverny, in part an homage to Monet and in part to see the lily pond in which he found so much inspiration. I’m afraid I found the whole experience somewhat Disneyesque but it was nice to at least imagine his home as an actual home and studio. Not entirely divorced from my experience at Giverny in May, I decided to set about work converting an old curling pond near my studio in to my own water lily pond. The work now complete, I look forward to experimentation with water lily varieties to populate the pond for next spring and summer which will hopefully add a new dimension to my ongoing water lily studies.
Cascade Reflections Oil on Canvas | 122 x 122 cm | £15500
Lily Pond, New Day Oil on Canvas | 148 x 122 cm | £17000
Sunset Study, the New Lily Pond Oil on Canvas | 66 x 66 cm | £5750
Lily Pond, Sunset Oil on Canvas | 66 x 66 cm | £5750
Lily Pond, Fading Light Oil on Canvas | 122 x 96 cm | £11250
Lily Pond, Early Morning Light Oil on Canvas | 142 x 112 cm | £15750
STILL LIFE & FIGURATIVE
My large silverware and flower pieces have become something of a signature style for me and one which owes much to my formal training. Although traditional in format, I like to work in very bright colours accentuated and thrown into sharp relief by their placement against a predominantly dark background, something borrowed from 16th century Flemish painting along with the near table height viewpoint. In my contemporary still life compositions I am able to exercise a completely different creative muscle from the observation of my landscape and traditional still life work. I love to be able to juggle shape, pattern, colour and content to create these designs without too much adherence to the strictures of formal still life or perspective. They are in essence collections of elements from my studio and indeed my life and, in their “picture making” owe much to my time spent in the graphic design industry. I like to include images from painters past, from those who have been an inspiration to me and to my work.
Stargazer Lilies and Red Fan Oil on Canvas | 97 x 97 cm | £9250
The Guitar Player Oil on Canvas | 110 x 105 cm | £11500
Still Life with Red Chair Oil on Canvas | 110 x 105 cm | £11500
Silver Coffee Pot and White Lilies Oil on Canvas | 97 x 97 cm | £9250
Provence Studio Study II Oil on Canvas | 33 x 38 cm | £2750
JACK MORROCCO DA FRSA
Jack Morrocco was born in Edinburgh in 1953 and educated at Madras College, St Andrews
Jack went on to study Art at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art, Dundee, between 1970 and 1974, under Alberto Morrocco OBE, James Morrison, Peter Collins, Jack Knox, David McClure and Gordon Cameron. This was followed by a Post Graduate year of study at Duncan of Jordanstone, after which he was awarded a highly commended post diploma - the highest possible award at the time.
In 1973 he was selected to study at Hospitalfield House, Arbroath, under the renowned pop artist Sir Peter Blake CBE.
In 1975 Jack was awarded the Farquhar Reid Traveling Scholarship and chose to spend it in Paris and Florence.
Following his studies, Jack became an illustrator before going on to establish a design and marketing agency in Dundee, while continuing to paint for various galleries in Scotland and the annual RSA and RGI exhibitions. Jack began painting full time in 1997 and since then he has exhibited extensively in selected galleries throughout Scotland and in London. His paintings hang in numerous corporate and private collections here and abroad.
MORNINGSIDE GALLERY 94 Morningside Road, Edinburgh, EH10 4BY 0131 447 3041 | art@morningsidegallery.co.uk | www.morningsidegallery.co.uk
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