Derek Morris: Drawing, Light and Colour: A Miscellany Exhibition at The Cut, Halesworth
Tuesday 16 February – Saturday 19 March
Selwyn Taylor reports:
As you ascend the stairs and enter the upper gallery of The Cut in Halesworth, you are immediately confronted by the massive Victorian wrought-iron roof-trusses. Being in such close proximity to the architectural fabric of the building, it takes a few seconds to refocus your view through the large geometric shapes towards the equally, but smaller scale, geometric wall sculptures of Derek Morris.
As you walk down the long gallery you could, if you’re lucky as I was, be greeted by wonderful low, winter sunshine flooding through the tiny grain store window; echoes of the building's past, and grain being left to dry naturally.
The structure of the 19th-century maltings requires the visitor to peer through one space to view another. This process has a natural empathy with the viewing of Derek’s work; both require the viewer to focus on a more distant point. The negative spaces created by the strongly drawn forms rely on light and reflection and are often influenced by the simplicity of Romanesque and Modernist architecture.
The whole back wall of the gallery is dedicated to the intricate 3-D abstract constructions, some containing vibrant colours, others using sheets of light to render the different surfaces. Derek’s consummate craftmanship is very evident, whether he is using metal, wood, plastic, ceramic or handmade paper and board. Industrial laser cutting is often used to provide the precision demanded within his work.
Once the immediate impact of each work has had time to be absorbed, these beautifully crafted pieces deserve closer examination. Take time to observe the subtlety of one plane being rotated against another by just a few degrees, the nuanced shifts in perspective, the tensions created between the different materials, colours and layering of his work.
There is a wonderful diverse range of work on show, both 2D and 3D, all representative of the European Modernist tradition of Constructed Art.
There is a noticeable and very beautiful synergy between the gallery space and Derek’s work. I felt energised after seeing this show, and I urge you to pay The New Cut a visit to see for yourselves.