Mali Morris – interview: ‘A phrase that I use as a mantra is “What if?”’

In the run up to her exhibition at Hatton Gallery, Morris talks about her processes of applying and removing paint and the dynamic between planning and chance

As Mali Morris (b1945, north Wales) prepares to turn 80 in February, she returns to Newcastle upon Tyne, where she first went as a student in 1963, to showcase a survey of her paintings from 1978 to today. The teaching of Richard Hamilton and Victor Pasmore on the radical First Year Basic Course that Morris took there was to influence her direction and development as an abstract painter, as were the ideas of Terry Frost, under whom she studied for her master of fine arts in Reading – in particular regarding colour’s relation to form. Morris describes her process now as treading the line between planning and chance. Her penchant for painting swathes of colour and then “clearing spaces” on the surface to reveal the ground beneath have led her to place weight on these early preparations of the canvas, whereby ornate grounds “almost become the subject”. The image of Morris running down the corridor to wash the canvas in the communal butler sink is as vivid as her colours.

Mali Morris: Returning, installation view, Hatton Gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne, 14 September 2024 – 11 January 2025. Photo: Colin Davison.

Morris says that she is always trying to rescue her work from becoming static or dull, and to this end she likes to work on different scales, as well as on canvas and paper, to bring in a bit of change. She is adamant that the works on paper are autonomous paintings, not just studies for her bigger canvases, and parallel to the Hatton Gallery exhibition, the nearby commercial gallery Gallager & Turner is showing examples of her works on paper alongside small sculptures by Morris’s partner of 40 years, Steve Lewis. Describing how they reflect on and influence each other’s practices, she says they share a language. On the subject of language, Morris also speaks about naming her works, and the invitation this offers for a viewer to “come into the painting”.

Mali Morris: Returning, installation view, Hatton Gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne, 14 September 2024 – 11 January 2025. Photo: Colin Davison.

Morris welcomed Studio International into her studio in Deptford, south-east London, and reflected on her practice and career.

Mali Morris: Returning
Hatton Gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne
14 September 2024 – 11 January 2025

Morris & Lewis/Real Work: Paintings and Sculpture
Gallagher & Turner, Newcastle upon Tyne
13 September – 2 November 2024

Interview by ANNA McNAY
Filmed by MARTIN KENNEDY