Morgan Stokes
Artist's Statement
Morgan Stokes is an artist based in Sydney/Gadigal land, Australia, whose practice investigates painting and sculpture as material systems. Deconstructing traditional frameworks to their elemental components – pigment, cloth, stretcher bars, stone – he interrogates how value and meaning are constructed within these systems. Central to his work is an examination of the ‘virtual gaze’: the transformation of perception as experience becomes increasingly screen-mediated. As paintings circulate primarily as reproduced images online, Stokes positions them as metaphors for contemporary personhood, caught between material presence and digital dissemination. His practice holds literal and philosophical dimensions in tension, exploring how the dimensionality of paintings and sculptures operate within a digitally mediated world.
Biography
Morgan Stokes (b. 1990) lives and works in Sydney, Australia (Gadigal land). He is currently a candidate for the Doctor of Fine Art at the National Art School, Sydney, and holds a Master of Design from UNSW Art & Design. A finalist in several esteemed art prizes, including the Mosman Art Prize (2025, 2024, 2022), Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize (2025, 2023), Lester Prize (2025), and the Darling Portrait Prize at the National Portrait Gallery (2024), Stokes is represented in Australia by Curatorial+Co. and in Europe by Richeldis Fine Art. His works are held in private collections across Australia, Singapore, Europe, and the United States, including the Justin Art House Museum permanent collection.
