Abstract artist Marjorie Morrow is presenting a new exhibition this weekend that features a collection of sublime landscape paintings from the archives she keeps in her studio-style barn in Kenoza Lake.

In “The Abstracted Landscape- From the Vault,” Morrow will present colorful impressions of the Catskill landscape in The Gallery at Domesticities in Youngsville from June 5-28, with an opening reception this Saturday, June 6, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. 

“I paint what affects me in my life. Sometimes it’s the physical landscape, and that’s what I’m showing now in this show, little landscapes that were abstractions of the natural landscape,” said Morrow. “But also the political landscape, the cultural [landscape]—I love music and I use it to inspire me.” 

Morrow grew up playing piano with her grandmother and says that the piano is now her bridge between what’s going on in her life and her painting studio. “Whatever’s going on, I sit down, play, and just get rid of it.”

Morrow, who just launched her new website at www.marjoriemorrow.com, says she has drawn inspiration from seminal artists like Arshile Gorky, Cy Twombly, Henri Matisse, and Wassily Kandinsky. Her stylized use of explosive color is coupled with a dynamic energy that seems to flow through each of her works. Morrow’s impressions of local landscapes bustle with bold lines, exotic colors, and an inherent broiling that never comes to rest. 

Equally as impressive as the vitality in her paintings is the vast variety of her work; each image offers a fresh look into the artist’s expansive vision. Though abstract, her work avoids nebulous subject matter and instead revels in strong features, unique color pairings, and a tangible resemblance to the natural image she is abstracting. With intentionally descriptive titles like “Fall Palette” and “Backlit Morning Trees,” Morrow points her audience in the right direction while allowing for individual interpretations.

“They always see something different—the eye of the beholder,” said Morrow. “Some artists don’t believe that you should talk or write about your work, but I really like writing, and titles are the only way I can write. I would never call something ‘untitled,’ it’s a waste! I’ve had people say they really appreciate hearing titles because the paintings are abstract, and it helps them to know their meaning.”

Morrow’s exhibition at Domesticities features a selection of paintings created over a span of two decades and explores her abstract interpretations of the Catskill landscape as a reference for movement, color, and line. When asked why so much restless and unresolved energy permeates her paintings, Morrow replied, “I never thought of my work in that way. I’m always on the move, maybe that’s it!”