David Morrison

Renowned for his minutely detailed lithographs and colored pencil drawings, David Morrison reveals both the beauty and imperfections of the natural world in his artworks, drawing subtle correlations between cycles of growth and decay and the transitory nature of human life. By isolating many of his subjects against a stark white background, Morrison creates hyperrealistic images that recast the aesthetics of botanical illustrations of the 18th and 19th centuries in a modernist tradition. He does not catalogue, classify, or capture idealized versions of individual species, rather, he revels in the elegant shapes and patterns found in even the most mundane organic forms. Morrison’s work celebrates the stark reality of nature as a whole, with all its flaws, blemishes, and the inevitable processes of decline. With an emphasis on the scars left by disease, infestation, storm damage, and decomposition, Morrison’s work is a powerful meditation on the fragility of existence.