PATH Museum Fall Exhibitions (fridays)

From the venue:

Frank Morrison

Frank Morrison, an Atlanta-based contemporary painter, uses his brush, and occasional spray can, to document and amplify the Black voices often overlooked in the cacophony of the modern metropolis. In an aesthetic that draws on historical techniques such as Neo-Mannerism, an essence of street art style, and rethinking of the boundaries of figuration and abstraction, Morrison embraces his own mission of celebrating the history of the ingenuity of the Black community.

Imagination was a core element of Morrison’s childhood. Growing up on an army base, he found ways to build new worlds and construct elaborate stories. Once his family moved to New Jersey, he found that the isolation of his early years had sheltered him from the ever-present prejudice and racism of the social fabric. He turned to his creative nature, recreating his reality in sketches, or inserting himself in comic strips that neglected Black faces.

Immersing himself in the culture of the 1980s, he began experimenting with graffiti and Hip Hop. His breakdancing skills landed him the opportunity to tour with music sensation Sybil while in high school, opening his eyes to a new world of art. Encouraged by his African American art teacher Mrs. Moore, he used his time abroad to visit the Louvre and was transformed by the masterpieces and innovation that surrounded him. Inspired, he dove into the history of art, teaching himself classic techniques and discovering new methods of expression from African American greats such as the Neo-Mannerists, the Ashcan school as well as the Mexican Muralist.

exhibit page

O.M. Norling

Jay Wilson paints under the pen-name O.M. Norling, a moniker borrowed from his great-great grandfather.

Jay was born in 1971. He’s the youngest of three brothers and son to a career army father and mother who put up with it all. Growing up, Jay found himself frequently adjusting to new surroundings. Six formative years of living and attending school in Germany and South Korea exposed Jay to European and Asian cultures. This mixture of influences and experiences is apparent in his works.

Recent venues include The Solarium in Decatur, GA (2018 & 2023), Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, GA (2020) as part of the ‘Once Upon a Story’ exhibit and The Bascom in Highlands, NC (2019).

Jay lives in Decatur, Georgia with his wife Amy and their three boys in a small house under the memory of a big tree.

ARTIST STATEMENT

In 1843, a young man disappeared without a trace from a modest family farm in Sweden. Seven years later, his mother received a letter postmarked from America. It was from her son, O.M. Norling. He explained that a compulsion to experience this faraway land had driven him to leave behind all that he knew.

The young man is my great-great grandfather. To put so much on the line to obey a compulsion… the audacity of this story was unnerving to me as a younger man. But now, with more years behind me, the sheer volume of life force it represents captivates and motivates me as an artist. For over a decade, I’ve signed my paintings, O.M. Norling.

With pencil, brush and oil paint, I construct eccentric compositions made up of animals, objects and furniture that all echo another time. They are beautiful, dark and humorous stories about the human experience.

exhibit page