Tall Trees

Jeff Morris’ work at Ampersand International Arts is entitled Tall Trees, and Morris clearly demonstrates the importance of seeing through them. Morris’ sculpture looks for something by finding something that is already there—a process of revelation. He collects and reassembles material to remind a viewer of what it is.

Vein (2010), a collection of reflector pieces, hovers as a reflection from the light that created it. Its shape—bands of vibration, striations of light—floats as though satellite crystals coloring our individual worlds. Outlook (2010) offers a reflective glimpse in order to glean memory: its collection of bright yellow road signs have been burned by the light of the sun, and only a slight shadow of the forgotten remains of a chain-link fence is witness to where they were found.

The drawings on the walls are also presented as they already were—any human touch is disqualified. They appear to be drawn as a means of recognizing their own power to be drawn; they are undeniably attractive, magnetic in their ability to hold a viewer’s attention. The value that appears here is that there is no trace of Morris’ making of the work. Whatever happened is gone, and viewers are left with only what is here now.

Tall Trees, installation view, 2010. Courtesy of the Artist and Ampersand International Arts, San Francisco.

Tall Trees is on view at Ampersand International Arts, in San Francisco, through October 10, 2010.

Jerad Walker is an artist and writer. He lives and works in Oakland and has shown his work in galleries throughout California.

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Disclosure: Tall Trees was curated by Art Practical’s Editor-in-Chief, Patricia Maloney. Shotgun reviews are open submissions, and not solicited by the editorial staff.