CE Morse

I have been a habitué of classic car boneyards ever since I bought my 1936 Pontiac at age 15. My first go-to boneyard was Johnnie Monroe's in South Thomaston, Maine where I sourced parts for the Pontiac as well as a '29 Essex, a '41 Packard and a '54 Nash. While rummaging about I discovered incredible visual compositions in the distressed iron & glass. These compositions filled with line, color and texture inspired me the same way as some of the best abstract art. This experience changed the way I viewed the world. I swapped my toolbox for a camera and started to capture wild art.

At Rhode Island School of Design I was fortunate to study with Aaron Siskind, and at The Maine Photographic Workshops (now Maine Media Workshops), took workshops with Paul Caponigro, Arnold Gassen & John Loengard which further fueled my enthusiasm.

The abstract images I capture photographically are from real subjects. Therefore, they hold many levels of interest for me:

the composition, texture, color
the unspoken history of random events that created the subject matter, for which I can only guess or imagine
wabi sabi (see Wikipedia)
that despite the resulting image being my abstract perspective, the subject is an actual concrete found object.
that the subject is generally something not considered beautiful, for example; a dumpster., but when taken out of context can be visually stunning.
the objects have changed slowly over many years to get to the point at which I find them, but despite seeming permanent & static, they, can (and do) rapidly change or disappear.
the interpretations expressed by viewers' imaginations.

People are taught to recognize and categorize all that they see. Abstractions reach deep into personal experience & imagination. My images may evoke a memory, an emotion, or a reminder of something visually similar. In a way I have a disadvantage; I know what I have photographed. Anyone else viewing my photographs is unencumbered by the influence of certain recognition and has a free range of imagination with which to appreciate their visual essence. My work is interactive; it starts a discussion. I am always eager to hear responses from others as to what they see or how it makes them feel.

Enough of all this palavering, let the images speak for themselves!

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2019 Solo Exhibition: “Wearable Art” - Arta, Falmouth, ME (Photographic prints and silks)

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2021 Group Exhibition: "Abstract Photography" UMVA (online due to Covid)
2021 Juried Exhibition: "Variations" Marblehead Arts Association, Marblehead, MA 2021 Juried Exhibittion: "The Abstract Image" Praxis Gallery, Minneapolis, MN 2021 Juried Exhibition: "Life" A Smith Gallery Johnson City Texas
2020 Juried Exhibition: Member's Show" United Maine Visual Artists
2020 Juried Exhibition: "Open Theme" - Southeast Center for Photography
2020 Juried Exhibition: "Black & White" - NYC4PA
2020 Juried Exhibition: "Portland 2020" - Cove Street Arts, Portland, ME
2020 Juried Exhibition: Griffin Open - Griffin Museum of Photography, Lexington, MA 2020 Juried Exhibition: "Shadows & Patterns" - NYC4PA @ the Jadite Gallery, NYC 2020 Juried Exhibition: "Odyssey" - PA Center for Photography - Doylestown, PA
2020 Juried Exhibition: "Open Theme" - Praxis Gallery Minneapolis, MN
2020 Juried Exhibition: Davis Orton Gallery: 65th Annual Group Show, Hudson, NY
2020 Juried Exhibition: Member Spotlight Show - RI Center for Photographic Arts, Providence, RI 2020 Juried Exhibition: "Patterns" Cape Cod Art Center, Barnstable, MA
2019 Juried Exhibition: "Wet" - Darkroom Gallery, Essex Junction, VT
2019 Juried Exhibition: 6th Open Call - Rhode Island Center for Photographic Arts, Providence, RI
2019 Juried Exhibition: "Colors of Humanity"
2019 Juried Exhibition: "Light and Shadows" - Union of Maine Visual Artists: Portland, ME
2019 Juried Exhibition: "Colors" - NYC4PA @ the Jadite Gallery, NYC
2019 Juried Exhibition & book: "The Sublime Landscape" - Praxis Gallery Minneapolis, MN
2019 Juried Exhibition: 7th Open Call - Rhode Island Center for Photographic Arts, Providence, RI 2019 Juried Exhibition: "Water" - Photoplace Gallery, Middlebury, VT
2019 Juried Exhibition: "Transitions" - Pennsylvania Center for Photography, Middlebury, VT
2019 Juried Exhibition: "Red" - A Smith Gallery Johnson City Texas
2019 Juried Exhibition: "All the Great Trees" - Creative Portland, Portland, ME

AWARDS

2020 Pollux Worldwide Gala Award Honorable Mention: Abstract/Series 2020 IPA 13th International Color Awards Honorable Mention & Nominee 2020 15th Annual Black & White Spider Awards 2 Nominations
2020 Chromatic Awards 2 Honorable Mentions
2020 TIFA (Tokyo International Foto Awards) 1st place: Portfolio Category
2020 L A Photo Curator: Life's Work. Honorable Mention
2019 14th Annual Black & White Spider Awards: 1 Honorable Mention, 1 Nomination
2019 Bokeh Bokeh: San Francisco Bay International Photography Exhibit - Silver Award Winner

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