2014 Catalogue Archive

Kristen Morgin meticulously recreates objects such as toys, books, folk art sculptures, and albums out of unfired clay. The objects themselves bear the evidence of age and wear, like the scribbles and peeled back stickers seen here in Comic Books High School Romance. A closer look at the imagery reveals a disjointed narrative that plays out across the piece (ie: the sticker of the detective squirrel next to the phrase “…a girl who sinned in secret and paid in public…”). Pushpins attach the work to the wall in the form of a diptych, and together the two elements become a portrait of youth and adolescence. Morgin’s work has been featured in exhibitions such as Overthrown: Clay Without Limits, Denver Art Museum; 12th Istanbul Biennial; Huckleberry Finn, CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Art, San Francisco; Unmonumental, New Museum, New York; and Thing, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles.