MANCHESTER, NH – A two-day exhibit of the work of the late artist Barbara Morse of Amherst will take place at The Factory on Willow in Manchester. The Venues at the Factory is arranging this art display in collaboration with the New Hampshire Art Association, the NH Chapter of the Women’s Caucus for Art, and the NH Business Committee for the Arts.
This extensive collection of Barbara’s work will be available for viewing from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday July 19 and from 2 to 6 p.m. Saturday July 20 at The Factory Venues, 252 Willow St., Manchester. Refreshment will be available for visitors attending the exhibit openings while viewing the work on display. Amy Regan of Manchester’s See-Saw Art will curate the 80-image exhibition. Proceeds from sales will be shared between the sponsoring partner organizations and, most significantly, a memorial scholarship established by the NHAA. This scholarship in Barbara’s name will be given annually to a NH high school graduate planning to pursue an advanced degree in art.
In many ways Barbara’s artwork is unique. Her ability to draw images to such recognizable likeness and combine them into an imagined creation is a talent few artists possess. Barbara consistently used a mere black-and-white pallet with occasional minimal tints of color for visual direction or enhancement; the aesthetics and integrity of Barbara’s simplistic platform allowed her work to evolve into being perceived as fine art. This was no easy task in a world of colorful art; nevertheless, her skill in fashioning graphite into art has yielded creations in which each viewer can look beyond the image to find their own meaning.
Over her career, Barbara earned membership in such prestigious art organizations as the Salmagundi Club in NYC and the Copley Society in Boston, and her art pieces have been hung in galleries and museums throughout New England. Even as peers suggested that her work be seen in the nation’s leading art museums or placed in books for a wider audience to cherish, Barbara focused her exhibits on the audience she most appreciated—the folks in New Hampshire.
Gallery of some of Barbara Morse’s artwork from the exhibition (click to enlarge)
In Barbara’s words: “By isolating a portion of a scene, an object, or a person, developing a mood, and avoiding elements of realism, I create my image in Sharp Focus. Light and texture is to be as much the subject as the objects themselves, while a fragmented view should provoke thoughts of the whole. The ordinary should become the unexpected when viewed from an unusual setting or perspective. No matter the level of labor intensity, I find joy and satisfaction watching a piece come to life before me. My reward, though, is not having the viewer see the work through my eyes, but their own, creating a personal and long-lasting image to be timelessly viewed and shared.”
As the New Hampshire organizations that she privileged in being a contributing member, we invite you to share her “Sharp Focus” drawings with our artist members by visiting this two day only exhibition, and consider, that the proceeds from all sales will support our New Hampshire art organization for their support and sponsorship, and the memorial scholarship fund.
The New Hampshire Business Committee For The Arts’ has created a link to view the artwork included in the exhibition their website. The link will also permit interested viewers to purchase all of Ms. Morse’s artwork in the exhibition from this online portal, Scholarship Fundraiser — NHBCA.
For those interested, the New Hampshire Art Association has also established a link to make a contribution directly to the Barbara Morse memorial scholarship fund here.