Morgan Pietrorazio

Artist Statement

My work explores my sense of self through the found, thrifted, and gifted objects I collect. I’ve always been drawn to toys, stuffed animals, ceramic figures, pots, vases, and other small artifacts that I felt an almost instinctive sense of life from, objects I encounter in thrift stores or receive from friends and family that seem to hold their own presence. This sense of a kind of soul in the inanimate has followed me throughout my life, and painting these objects allows me to share that feeling and understand it in a new way. With a focus on color, I repropose and breathe new life into things that may have gone to landfill otherwise. Over time, these objects have taken on a life of their own, my natural connection to them strengthening as I include them in my work.

A painting often begins with a personal theme or a particular object I feel called to paint without yet knowing why; its role becoming clearer as the piece develops. I often find the composition naturally reflects my interests or train of thought from the painting’s time of creation, mirroring my personal state in a way beyond just the study of the inanimate. The overcrowdedness of my compositions reflects the overcrowdedness of my thoughts, creating a visual way of experiencing how my mind jumps from idea to idea. The paint itself provides a way to articulate this in ways that words cannot, vibrant color and expressive impasto painting making a different method of communicating more accessible when finding the words is difficult. This process becomes a form of self reflection, often leading me directly into the next painting. Ultimately these paintings join my collection transformed, over time becoming tangible emotionally resonant objects themselves.