Cole Morgan
Cole Morgan’s paintings combine meticulous, focused detail with a sense of deep, open-ended mystery. Morgan’s shapes cast shadows, their rounded forms seeming to rise out of the painting: “A false thing pretending to be a real thing,” as Morgan has noted. His works hover between logic and imagination: gridlines dissolve into spontaneous drips; text appears almost legible, but vanishes behind ghostly overlays.
Biography
Resembling enigmatic diagrams, charts, and games, yet situated just within the realm of abstraction, Cole Morgan’s paintings combine meticulous, focused detail with a sense of deep, open-ended mystery. Originally trained as a draftsman, Morgan combines his masterful skill in realistic drawing with an appreciation for the material joys of paint and color. Saturated pigments—cobalt blue, bright crimson, lime green—seem especially brilliant against his painting’s light-infused backgrounds.
Morgan’s shapes cast shadows, their rounded forms seeming to rise out of the painting: “A false thing pretending to be a real thing,” as Morgan has noted. His works hover between logic and imagination: gridlines dissolve into spontaneous drips; text appears almost legible, but vanishes behind ghostly overlays. Yet despite the apparent intervention of random events, each painting constitutes an exquisitely wrought pattern. “Every square millimeter of canvas is controlled,” Morgan has said. “There are no ‘accidents’ in my compositions.” Through his labor-intensive process of layering and re-layering, modeling and drawing, Morgan sets up compelling tensions between form and formlessness, abstraction and representation.
Morgan’s work has been exhibited internationally at the CIGE, Beijing; the Korea International Art Fair; Galerie Mia Joosten, Amsterdam, and Museum Laerken Nykobing Falster, Denmark, among many others.
Born
1950 New York, USA.
Selected Solo and Group Exhibitions
2022 Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2020 Caldwell Snyder Gallery, St. Helena, CA.
2016 Caldwell Snyder Gallery, St. Helena, CA.
Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
Context Miami, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, Miami, FL.
Context NY, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, New York, NY.
Art Market SF, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
2015 Context Miami, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, Miami, FL.
Art Silicon Valley, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Mateo, CA.
Art Market SF, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
Caldwell Snyder Gallery, St. Helena, CA.
Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
2014 Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
2012 Caldwell Snyder Gallery, St. Helena, CA.
2011 Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
Campton Gallery, New York, NY.
2010 SF Art Fair, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
2009 LA Art Show, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, Los Angelos, CA.
Art Miami, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, Miami, FL.
2008 Campton Gallery, New York, NY.
Red Dot Art Fair, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, Miami, FL.
2007 Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
Korea International Art Fair, CIGE, Beijing, China.
2006 TEFAF Maastricht, Galerie Mi a Joosten, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Art Milan, Milan, Italy.
Kashya Hildebrand, Zurich, Switzerland.
Museum Laerken, Nykobing Falster, Denmark.
Oisterwijk Sculpture, Etienne & Van Loon Contemporary
Fine Art, Oisterwijk, Netherlands.
Art Cologne, Galerie Jorg Hasenbach, Antwerp, Belgium.
2005 TEFAF Maastricht, Galerie Mia Joosten, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Art Fair Den Bosch, Galerie Husstege, Den Bosch, Netherlands.
KUNST RAI, Galerie Contempo, Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Oisterwijk Sculpture, Etienne & Van Loon Contemporary
Fine Art, Oisterwijk, Netherlands.
Art Cologne, Galerie Jorg Hasenbach, Antwerp, Belgium.
Kashya Hildebrand, Zurich, Switzerland.
Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
Toronto International Art Fair, Toronto, Canada.
Gallery Jones, Vancouver, Canada.
2004 SF International Art Exposition, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
Art Rotterdam, Galerie Contempo, Rotterdam, Netherlands.
TEFAF Maastricht, Galeria Mia Joosten, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
National Glass Museum Ledeerman, Netherlands.
PAN Amsterdam, Galerie Hüsstege, Den Bosch, Netherlands.
Galerie Laerkin, Nykobing Falster, Denmark.
Galerie Protee, Paris, France.
Press
PRESS
Selected Artworks
Born
1950 New York, USA.
Selected Solo and Group Exhibitions
2022 Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2020 Caldwell Snyder Gallery, St. Helena, CA.
2016 Caldwell Snyder Gallery, St. Helena, CA.
Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
Context Miami, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, Miami, FL.
Context NY, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, New York, NY.
Art Market SF, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
2015 Context Miami, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, Miami, FL.
Art Silicon Valley, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Mateo, CA.
Art Market SF, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
Caldwell Snyder Gallery, St. Helena, CA.
Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
2014 Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
2012 Caldwell Snyder Gallery, St. Helena, CA.
2011 Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
Campton Gallery, New York, NY.
2010 SF Art Fair, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
2009 LA Art Show, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, Los Angelos, CA.
Art Miami, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, Miami, FL.
2008 Campton Gallery, New York, NY.
Red Dot Art Fair, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, Miami, FL.
2007 Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
Korea International Art Fair, CIGE, Beijing, China.
2006 TEFAF Maastricht, Galerie Mi a Joosten, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Art Milan, Milan, Italy.
Kashya Hildebrand, Zurich, Switzerland.
Museum Laerken, Nykobing Falster, Denmark.
Oisterwijk Sculpture, Etienne & Van Loon Contemporary
Fine Art, Oisterwijk, Netherlands.
Art Cologne, Galerie Jorg Hasenbach, Antwerp, Belgium.
2005 TEFAF Maastricht, Galerie Mia Joosten, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Art Fair Den Bosch, Galerie Husstege, Den Bosch, Netherlands.
KUNST RAI, Galerie Contempo, Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Oisterwijk Sculpture, Etienne & Van Loon Contemporary
Fine Art, Oisterwijk, Netherlands.
Art Cologne, Galerie Jorg Hasenbach, Antwerp, Belgium.
Kashya Hildebrand, Zurich, Switzerland.
Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
Toronto International Art Fair, Toronto, Canada.
Gallery Jones, Vancouver, Canada.
2004 SF International Art Exposition, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
Art Rotterdam, Galerie Contempo, Rotterdam, Netherlands.
TEFAF Maastricht, Galeria Mia Joosten, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
National Glass Museum Ledeerman, Netherlands.
PAN Amsterdam, Galerie Hüsstege, Den Bosch, Netherlands.
Galerie Laerkin, Nykobing Falster, Denmark.
Galerie Protee, Paris, France.
Resembling enigmatic diagrams, charts, and games, yet situated just within the realm of abstraction, Cole Morgan’s paintings combine meticulous, focused detail with a sense of deep, open-ended mystery. Originally trained as a draftsman, Morgan combines his masterful skill in realistic drawing with an appreciation for the material joys of paint and color. Saturated pigments—cobalt blue, bright crimson, lime green—seem especially brilliant against his painting’s light-infused backgrounds.
Morgan’s shapes cast shadows, their rounded forms seeming to rise out of the painting: “A false thing pretending to be a real thing,” as Morgan has noted. His works hover between logic and imagination: gridlines dissolve into spontaneous drips; text appears almost legible, but vanishes behind ghostly overlays. Yet despite the apparent intervention of random events, each painting constitutes an exquisitely wrought pattern. “Every square millimeter of canvas is controlled,” Morgan has said. “There are no ‘accidents’ in my compositions.” Through his labor-intensive process of layering and re-layering, modeling and drawing, Morgan sets up compelling tensions between form and formlessness, abstraction and representation.
Morgan’s work has been exhibited internationally at the CIGE, Beijing; the Korea International Art Fair; Galerie Mia Joosten, Amsterdam, and Museum Laerken Nykobing Falster, Denmark, among many others.
Biography
Press
Cole Morgan’s paintings combine meticulous, focused detail with a sense of deep, open-ended mystery. Morgan’s shapes cast shadows, their rounded forms seeming to rise out of the painting: “A false thing pretending to be a real thing,” as Morgan has noted. His works hover between logic and imagination: gridlines dissolve into spontaneous drips; text appears almost legible, but vanishes behind ghostly overlays.
Cole Morgan
"Although I abandoned the hyper-realist drawings on paper, I did take one very important element of that period with me to the non-figurative period. The use of shadow. The shadow is meant to give a credible three-dimensionality to the otherwise abstract forms. Makes them whimsical from a distance and adds just a little intrigue. A false thing pretending to be a real thing. And I'm going to let you discover that."
Cole Morgan’s paintings combine meticulous, focused detail with a sense of deep, open-ended mystery. Morgan’s shapes cast shadows, their rounded forms seeming to rise out of the painting: “A false thing pretending to be a real thing,” as Morgan has noted. His works hover between logic and imagination: gridlines dissolve into spontaneous drips; text appears almost legible, but vanishes behind ghostly overlays.