Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Morgan Everhart. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Morgan, appreciate you joining us today. Can you take us back in time to the first dollar you earned as a creative – how did it happen? What’s the story?

During my undergraduate schooling at The University of North Texas, I worked as a host at a fine dining restaurant that also installed a few of my paintings in their dining room. During that time, I was fascinated with religious iconography and impressionism, so this restaurant ended up with a painting referencing “Judith Slaying Holofernes” by Artemisia Gentileschi. It brought me so much joy to see this fundamental reference for artists exploring power dynamics and gender identity in a place where I served guests and cleaned their tables. One day, a regular who had inquired about my paintings on a few occasions decided to purchase the work.

Navigating the art world and practicing painting full time was an uncharted, daunting territory when I was younger. Even presently, most schools have little insights about professional practices in visual art. However, having someone who knew me as a restaurant host and artist decide to invest in my work gave me confidence that I could build a sustainable career in making paintings. Nothing feels more affirming than someone wanting to live with something you’ve created wholeheartedly.

I also learned at that moment that collectors are often new friends and mentors that give great feedback and continued support. For example, my first collector was an avid art lover who gave me a wonderful catalog of Francisco Goya’s work, which I still frequently look at. It’s open in my studio right now actually.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I am an artist, curator and writer with a practice that explores how we fundamentally exist. Despite the medium or project I’m working on, I love questioning and elevating existing conditions for people and communities I care about.

In painting, I use varying degrees of abstraction to make paintings where motion and emotion are indistinguishably tied. By overlapping historical references of floral, landscape, and figurative painting, I imbed spiritual dialogues, and try to make sense of life’s arbitrariness. I often work on canvas at different scales, however, I’ve recently painted some larger outdoor murals.
As a writer and curator, I often feature underrepresented, female identifying artists. My aim is to help emerging artists feel like they have a seat at the Art World table. I was recently a curator in residence at The Yard City Hall Park and co founder/director of The Art Career Podcast Season One. Since 2017, I’ve contributed writing to A Women’s Thing.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

In my life, I want to help people appreciate abstraction. Life, in almost every aspect, feels incredibly uncertain and unstable. This brings ambivalence and an extreme dissonance between many people. In my creative journey, I try to open dialogues about perception by teetering in between floral, landscape, and figurative motifs. These subjects, when intersected, are all universal and accessible points of entry into more emotional, existential conversations.

I believe there are three reasons why people create – therapy, communication, and intervention. Each reason is equally as significant as the other, however, artists who leave legacies often do all three of these purposes. I hope my paintings can do these three things for myself and others.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

As I get older, my art projects are becoming bigger productions that involve more people and funding. Many believe creating art is a primarily solitary act, however, as your creativity is shared with more people at larger scales, you have to work with a team to get the project done. Resilience is knowing your worth, keeping your audience in mind, and saying no when a project or entity is no longer benefiting you.

I can’t even begin to describe how aggressive, prejudiced, and manipulative the art world can be. I’ve experienced unfathomable discrimination and retaliation with employers, gallerists, and colleagues that would never be allowed in other industries. There are too many stories I could recount, so I do my best to address issues immediately then focus on positive endeavors. It’s been an arduous journey establishing healthy boundaries and finding people I trust. Part of the reason why I work in facilitating opportunities for other artists is because I don’t want the art world to be this way.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.morganeverhart.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/morgan_everhart
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/morganeverhartpaintings

Image Credits
Installation photos and individual artwork images – Courtesy of the Artist. Mural images – Photos by Lauren Damaskinos. “Morgan Everhart Studio 3” – Photo by Aaron DuRall. “Everhart Studio Courtesy Lauren Damaskinos” – Photo by Lauren Damaskinos.