Ahmed Morsi, The Black Fish, 1984, Acrylic on canvas, 60 x 52 in
Ahmed Morsi, Black Bird II, 1986, Acrylic on canvas, 59 x 78.75 in
Ahmed Morsi, Clocks II, 1998, Oil on canvas, 82.25 x 120 in
Ahmed Morsi, Iraq's Weeping Women II, 2011, Acrylic on canvas, 60.25 x 90.25 in
Ahmed Morsi, The Fish's Eye, 2012, Acrylic on canvas, 84 x 50 in
Ahmed Morsi, The Yellow Mask, 1976, Acrylic on canvas, 50.25 x 50.25 in
Ahmed Morsi, Untitled (Lovers), 2006, Acrylic on canvas, 73.25 x 118.5 in
Ahmed Morsi, Untitled (Man and Two Creatures), 1986, Acrylic on canvas, 60.25 x 70 in
Ahmed Morsi, Untitled (Man and Two Fish), n/d, Acrylic on wood, 36 x 36 in
Ahmed Morsi, Untitled (Soprano), 1997, Acrylic on canvas, 87 x 60.25 in
Ahmed Morsi, Untitled (Still Life), 1996, Acrylic on canvas, 95.5 x 120.5 in
Ahmed Morsi, Untitled (The Cyclist), 1975, Acrylic on canvas, 49.25 x 41.75 in
Ahmed Morsi, The Flying Poet Series, 2001, Acrylic on paper, 22.5 x 30 in
Ahmed Morsi, Untitled (Bull), 1968, Mixed media on paper, 15 x 21.5 in
Ahmed Morsi, Birds Series, 1984, Mixed media on paper, 20 x 15.75 in
Ahmed Morsi, Nostalgia Series, 1976, Etching on zinc plates & aquatint, 6 x 6 in
Ahmed Morsi, The White Mask Series, 1977, Serigraph, 15 x 10.5 in
Ahmed Morsi, Untitled (Torso) II, 1993, Mixed media on cardboard, 24 x 18 in
Ahmed Morsi, Untitled (Torso) III, 1992, Etching on zinc plates & aquatint, 7.75 x 6 in
Ahmed Morsi, Untitled (Caged Figures), 1983, Etching on zinc plates & aquatint, 17.5 x 11 in
Ahmed Morsi, Untitled (Two Figures with Horse), 1982, Etching on zinc plates & aquatint, 19.5 x 16 in
Ahmed Morsi, Untitled (Figure holding Fish), 1982, Etching on zinc plates, 13.5 x 10 in
Ahmed Morsi, Untitled (Figure with Bird), 1976, Lithograph, 19.5 x 14 in
Ahmed Morsi, Untitled (Figure with Fish), 1982, Etching on zinc plates & aquatint, 10 x 7.75 in
Ahmed Morsi, Untitled (Figure with Horse), 1982, Etching on zinc plates & aquatint, 9.75 x 8 in
The works in The Flying Poet span Morsi’s oeuvre from the 1960’s till the present moment – a time period reflecting the artists residence in New York City. Morsi was born in Alexandria, Egypt in 1930. Drawing on his memories of his upbringing, Morsi employs a series of surrealist motifs that appear to take a dip in the metaphysical. In an essay for Artforum, critic Kaelen Wilson-Goldie observes, “Morsi appears to proffer Surrealism - with its endlessly adaptable and perpetually useful language – as a bridge between the modern and the contemporary.”
His variously populated images seem to have origins in ancient Egyptian iconography - the sadness of his creatures derived by animating an ancient past with modern life. He does this by assembling his compositions as a series of continuums between different planes. The theatricality of his painted spaces is undeniable. Ambitious visual plains, characters in varying degrees of definition and a sense of pathos, all pointing to a moor that exists out of time. The oblong and angular heads of his subjects go a long way in underscoring the absurdity of the scene.
Installation photography by Sebastian Bach
