Morgan Stokes continues his inquiry into how our modes of perception change as the world becomes increasingly mediated by the screen. His works often embodies a corporeality – they are studies in matter and not images, and can be seen as formal exercises in reduction to understand the vitality of form and material. Stokes is not only investigating the objecthood of painting, he is imbuing matter with a philosophical resonance in an age of the immaterial.

Stokes’ latest series Five Studies for Body/Space Reversal uses stain on silk to explore the painting as a whole object. By integrating timber stain – typically reserved for frames – into the surface, these works look into the boundaries between image and support. Through exploring the potential of these materials together, the artist is trying to reconsider painting’s physical, material, and spatial conventions.