My artwork contrasts realistic and abstract representations of the body alongside objects and symbols which explore animism and contain distinct psyche. I represent the translucency of skin by physically creating this integument within the work through the process of multiple layers of color-pencil. Similarly the plasticity of encaustic allows me to comb and massage sheens and shapes over my pencil and gouache work, forming symbolic musculoskeletal systems and unique isolated objects.
These collected elements create metaphors for my experience of womanhood, motherhood, love, loss, self-preservation, panic, desire, and knowing. This work is diaristic, featuring self-portraiture, my partner and child. I use orientation dissonance–the inversion of the figure–to symbolize circumspection, surrender, gestation, and metamorphosis. I render hands frequently, they represent intention and action. I also paint the mouth, tongue, and teeth as gateways between the inner self and outer world. Through taste and touch, I experience intimacy and desire. This anatomy creates boundaries while also being an entry point. Through my work I invite you to experience this same push pull of entering and observing from a distance.
JP Morrison Lans’ holds a BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute. Her drawing “Mermaid” is in the permanent collection of the Bundaberg Regional Gallery, Queensland, Australia. She has been a resident artist with the School of Visual Arts, NY., Truro Art Center, MA., Rockland Woods, WA., The Vermont Studio Center and is an inaugural member of the New York Crit Club’s Canopy Program. Morrison Lans is a member of the international artist collective Teleportal.Gallery and shows her work with M.A. Doran Gallery, Tulsa; Keep Contemporary, Santa Fe; and 19 Karen, Gold Coast, Australia. Morrison Lans’ has created immersive installations for the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition, Living Arts Center, and AHHA Art Center. She and her child can typically be found experimenting with encaustic and play-doh, respectively, from their home studio in Tulsa, Oklahoma. JP is currently working towards her next solo exhibition with Heron Arts, San Francisco.
‘Horror vacui’: The uncanny and gorgeous work of JP Morrison Lans
JP and Nicci Arnold discuss their work for the ARB's online exhibition Virtual Realism
This immersive exhibit treats visitors to an interactive, multimedia, art adventure
Music Video by Annie Ellicott and Mark Kuykendall, filmed inside JP's exhibition Wundrian
Join the former Oklahoma Visual Artists' Coalition Director for this video review of JP's New Genre Festival art exhibition
Forty-six of today's most important & influential writers combine with artists to create a fictional take on the 46th state.