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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untitled, 2022

untitled, 2022

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

Available artworks

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, 2022

Morgan Betz, untitled, 2022

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

Morgan Betz, untitled, 2022

signed and dated on the reverse
acrylic, spray paint and collage on canvas
70 x 100 cm
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Morgan Betz, untitled, 2021

Morgan Betz, untitled, 2021

paper tablecloths on canvas
163 x 130 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, Mets, 2021

Morgan Betz, Mets, 2021

acrylic on canvas
130.5 x 196 cm
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Morgan Betz, untitled, 2018

Morgan Betz, untitled, 2018

corrugated steel pipes and powder coating
450 x 550 x 125 cm
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Morgan Betz, Rainy fence, 2018

Morgan Betz, Rainy fence, 2018

acrylic, gouache, block printing ink and roofing felt on cardboard
120 x 79 cm
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Morgan Betz, Flies on milk (Sun), 2017

Morgan Betz, Flies on milk (Sun), 2017

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

Morgan Betz, Flies on milk (Day), 2017

Block printing ink, block printing medium and acrylic on canvas 200 x 270 cm
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Morgan Betz, Popcorn and Sakura

Morgan Betz, Popcorn and Sakura

2015, blockprint ink on canvas , 225,5 x 280 cm (2 parts, each 225,5 x 140 cm)
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Morgan Betz, One House Ago, 2009

Morgan Betz, One House Ago, 2009

oil on canvas
125 x 90 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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