Rachel Morrissey in VIVANT Magazine
Rachel Morrissey created her newest body of colorfully saturated narrative paintings with the Colony Hotel in mind. With BLOOM, Morrissey melds imaginary, strange, and inventive flowers with truthful depictions of Florida’s native fruits and fauna. Using themes of motherhood, mental health, and, more recently, life with Lupus, Morrissey employs organic forms to convey her daily experiences enticingly.
Her diagnosis, although life-altering, was not surprising as she is no stranger to invisible struggles. Lupus, as intense and destructive as it is, is not always visible to the onlooker, just as her plants and flowers appear joyous and full of life, but a subtle tension lurks beneath the surface. Morrissey is fasci- nated by the way plant forms have the uncanny ability to tell stories and depict emotions through the simplest of gestures. She paints extremely saturated scenes that seduce the viewer, and only after second and third glances do the duplicities of the vegetation emerge. Hidden within the exuberant and joyous scenes are suffocating vines, signs of decay, and unwelcome mutations.
Morrissey envisioned a new world within each canvas for this exhibition, presenting a fresh cast of plants and flowers. She underscores the parallels between the splendor of the Florida coast, which is continually threatened and at risk, with the tantalizing beauty of her original works. Born in the late 80s in Dorchester, Massachusetts, Rachel Morrissey grew up in Connecticut and received her MFA in 2016 from Massachu- setts College of Art and Design. She earned a Post-Baccalau- reate degree from The School of the Museum of Fine Arts in 2014 and a BFA in Studio Art from Indiana University in 2009. Morrissey is a mother of two young children and currently lives and works in Medfield, Massachusetts. This is her second show with Voltz Clarke Gallery and her first at The Colony Hotel.
The Colony Palm Beach | Voltz Clarke Gallery Collaboration invites hotel guests, visitors, and locals alike to explore a rotating selection of fine art at the iconic property steps from Worth Avenue and the Atlantic Ocean. As guardians of a treasured icon, The Colony Palm Beach faithfully preserves its legacy of gracious hospitality while ensuring continued relevance to a new generation of modern, well-traveled, and discerning guests. The 93-room property offers unique, curated experiences for guests of all ages delivered with best-in-class ultra boutique service. Much more than a hotel, The Colony is a state of mind – a place to connect meaningfully and authentically with one of the world’s most storied destinations, steps from Worth Avenue and the Atlantic Ocean. Aware of The Colony’s singular place in the hearts of long-time Palm Beachers, the hotel is dedicated to maintaining a rich tradition of culinary excellence and sophisticated entertainment in a vibrant social setting that is both welcoming and refreshingly unpretentious.
