Darrel Morris' work has its origins in storytelling. Growing up in Appalachia he saw lots of arts and crafts, lawn art, and explicit religious art. As a young child he wanted to be a cartoonist and wanted to create his own world. Now he feels like a satiric reporter of sorts, reporting events from his personal and public life. He reports on things witnessed or experienced, using techniques and materials that come from and integrate into his daily life. The majority of his work reflects how people present themselves to the world and how they interact with others; sort of dull and odd slices of life. His work deals with social issues: gender stereotyping, misuse of authority, economic class, child abuse, and aging. Morris received a MFA from SAIC in 1987. He has exhibited throughout the United States and Canada, including solo shows in Chicago and New York. His work is published as part of the Telos Art Publishing "Portfolio Collection" series (vol. 33, 2004). He received the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Fellowship, the Art Artadia Award, several Illinois Arts Council Artists Fellowship awards, and the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Individual Artist Award.
Darrel Morris gives a lecture on his work as part of the Material and the Politics of Making Lecture Series made possible by The William Bronson and Grayce Slovet Mitchell Lectureship in Fiber and Material Studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Monday, February 24, 2014, 12:00 pm, Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 North State Street.
