Our studio artist feature this week is Annie Morris. Morris is known in the UK and abroad for her “stack sculptures” -- tall, totem-pole esque abstract works like the ones pictured in the above image. The artist’s studio is located in East London.

Morris’ studio space looks incredibly bright and bubbly in this photograph. Quite literally, the studio space is packed with large, bubble-esque sculptures that remind me of recent outdoor works by Ugo Rondinone. I’m curious as to how the artist creates these high stacks of the forms -- does she lay them horizontally and carve them out? Or does she use a ladder to affix them directly on top of one another? Either way, the idea produces an interesting image of the kind of activity that must go on this studio.

Beyond the sculptural forms, there’s a lot going on in this studio space. I can see a table covered in every manner of paint and painting supply behind the artist. The corners of the room seem packed with artistic detritus, from smaller artworks -- perhaps sketches -- to other materials and lighting apparati. I especially like the apparent loft space toward the back of the room. It’s difficult to tell, but it looks as though it holds several shelving units worth of books. A lovely source of inspiration.

Morris once shared the studio with her husband, fellow artist Idris Kahn. Morris has said that her stack sculptures initially evolved as a way to process the grief of a stillborn baby, with their shapes inspired by the shape of a pregnant stomach. Since their inception the sculptures have grown a life and significance of their own, taking on new meanings.

[image source]