Morgan Betz

Dutch-American, 1974

Born in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Lives and works in Amsterdam, Berlin and Japan.

What Morgan Betz’s art makes clear is that a great deal of present-day art is irrelevant because it does not demonstrate its legitimacy. Every work of art must be able to answer the question of whether it is truly of any added value. Beauty in itself does not suffice. Betz’s paintings and objects are certainly not beautiful, in the classical sense of the word. He deliberately crashes off the track to find out whether anything new can be made from the ruins. He has a subtle gift for subversion, a talent that is sadly lacking from much contemporary art.

How does this subversion work? Betz is capable of drawing inspiration and influence from the maladjusted and tragicomic elements of our everyday lives. It takes courage to turn away from the customary practices of rationalization and conceptualisation in today’s visual culture.

How does it demonstrate its relevance? His work can be described as a reservoir of images, fragments, and quotations. The accumulation of all these layers enables Betz to redefine the material he has collected in terms of content. The process of making the work becomes an exercise in finding the right balance between directness, construction, and the tension of a planned outcome. Betz’s quest is for a closing equilibrium in which the image achieves tranquillity: the moment at which it needs nothing beyond itself in order to convince, and is no longer an illustration of ideas.

Download CV (updated 08-19)

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Morgan Betz, Nicosia, 2024

Morgan Betz, Nicosia, 2024

Acrilyc on canvas
143 x 108.5 cm

Available artworks

Morgan Betz, Nicosia, 2024

Morgan Betz, Nicosia, 2024

Acrilyc on canvas
143 x 108.5 cm
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Morgan Betz, Sticky finger, 2023

Morgan Betz, Sticky finger, 2023

carved wood, plastic, hair band, pencil, fabric
91 x 61 x 12.5 cm
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Morgan Betz, Lame, 2023

Morgan Betz, Lame, 2023

pigment, binder, spray paint, tape on paper
177 x 95.5 cm
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Morgan Betz, Slum, 2023

Morgan Betz, Slum, 2023

pigment, binder, spray paint, tape on paper
177 x 95.5 cm
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Morgan Betz, Pants, 2022

Morgan Betz, Pants, 2022

marker on paper
58 x 41.5 cm
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Morgan Betz, Garden, 2023

Morgan Betz, Garden, 2023

acrylic, vinyl paint and block printing ink on canvas
185 x 185 cm
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Morgan Betz, Slum slop mulch, 2023

Morgan Betz, Slum slop mulch, 2023

spay paint and paper tablecloth on canvas mounted on panel
140 x 256 cm
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Morgan Betz, untitled, 2022

Morgan Betz, untitled, 2022

signed and dated on the reverse
block printing ink, vinyl paint and collage on canvas
148 x 120 cm
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Morgan Betz, untitled, 2022

Morgan Betz, untitled, 2022

signed and dated on the reverse
acrylic on canvas
135 x 180 cm
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Morgan Betz, untitled, 2021

Morgan Betz, untitled, 2021

signed and dated on the reverse
collage on prepared linen
133 x 152 cm
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Morgan Betz, untitled, 2021

Morgan Betz, untitled, 2021

signed and dated on the reverse
block printing ink, acrylic and oilstick on canvas, in artist's frame
153 x 80.5 cm
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Morgan Betz, untitled, 2021

Morgan Betz, untitled, 2021

signed and dated on the reverse
paper tablecloths on canvas
163 x 130 cm
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Morgan Betz, untitled, 2021

Morgan Betz, untitled, 2021

signed and dated on the reverse
acrylic on canvas
182.5 x 148 cm
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Morgan Betz, untitled, 2021

Morgan Betz, untitled, 2021

signed and dated on the reverse
acrylic and collage on canvas
146.5 x 206.5 cm
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Morgan Betz, Flies on milk (Loop), 2018

Morgan Betz, Flies on milk (Loop), 2018

block printing ink, block printing medium and acrylic on canvas
200 x 187 cm
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Morgan Betz, Big Apple, 2021

Morgan Betz, Big Apple, 2021

acrylic on canvas
156.5 x 207 cm
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Morgan Betz, untitled, 2018-19

Morgan Betz, untitled, 2018-19

acrylic, spraypaint, vinyl paint on burlap
195 x 195 cm
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Morgan Betz, Bill's Hat, 2019

Morgan Betz, Bill's Hat, 2019

block printing ink, block printing medium and acrylic on canvas
180.5 x 128 cm
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Morgan Betz, Flies on milk (Afternoon), 2018

Morgan Betz, Flies on milk (Afternoon), 2018

block printing ink, block printing medium and acrylic on canvas
200 x 184 cm
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Morgan Betz, Flies on milk (Neon), 2017

Morgan Betz, Flies on milk (Neon), 2017

block printing ink, block printing medium and acrylic on canvas
200 x 189 cm
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Morgan Betz, Flies on milk (Blow up), 2017

Morgan Betz, Flies on milk (Blow up), 2017

Block printing ink, block printing medium and acrylic on canvas
200 x 200 cm
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Publications

Morgan Betz – Flies on Milk, Green Eggs & Ham, 2018

Morgan Betz – Flies on Milk, Green Eggs & Ham, 2018

Paperback, First Edition 2018
22 × 28 cm, 152 Pages
ISBN 978-3-906946-07-8
€ 24.95
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Morgan Betz - Pain du Jour, 2016

Morgan Betz - Pain du Jour, 2016

paperback, 2016
14.7 x 21 cm, 24 pages
text by Moniek Peeters
Published by Willem Baars Projects & Morgan Betz
Produced by Romantic Press
Tokyo, Japan
€9.50
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Editions

Untitled, 2015

Untitled, 2015

silkscreen print
115 x 90 cm
Edition of 8 plus 2 artist's proofs
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Untitled, 2015

Untitled, 2015

silkscreen print
115 x 90 cm
Edition of 8 plus 2 artist's proofs
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Flies On Milk (Sleep), 2019

Flies On Milk (Sleep), 2019

Edition of 30, signed and numbered
Paper size 60 × 35 cm,
Image size 53 × 28 cm
Silk-screen in 6 colours
printed by Lorenz Bögli
Published by About Books, Zürich (CH)
€ 500,-
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