Mama’s In The Arbor, 2014 detail

Ancient relief sculpture process draws on collective memories of art history, pop culture and current events.

For more than 20,000 years distinct periods of artistic achievement and civil society showcased relief sculpture. Diverse cultures have engaged in this method of communication since antiquity. Most surviving examples are allegorical in some way or another, presenting scenes and stories relative to timely influences. Sculptors and artisans transcribed what was needed, mandated, or desired in a variety of methods and styles.

Today, sculptor Jedediah Morfit continues this rich and evolving tradition in his solo exhibition at Sugarcube. Contemporary minded and in contrast, Morfit’s non-allegorical approach is not directed at a higher power, or for social good. Instead, he fuses cartoon-like aesthetics with non-specific renderings of personal intrigue. Collective memories of art history, popular culture and current events encourage individualized associations for viewers.

From On High, 2015
Series of plates
Plaster, enamel
26.67 cm x 26.67 cm (10.5 in x 10.5 in)
Price upon request

There is ambiguity in three representative bas-reliefs from Morfit’s multiplate series From On High. It resides in the ornate domestication of medieval images of Old Testament shepherds and prophets from Afghanistan and Pakistan. These figures represent inconsequential observers, bearing witness to tragic Middle East events throughout history. Morfit places an assumed innocence on these same-looking men while violence happens beyond their control. A certain humbled romanticism and objectification is overlaid with graphic images that suggest the glory of annunciation, or the annihilation of a drone strike – time collides.

Mama’s In The Arbor, 2014
Forton MG plaster, mixed media (architecturally stable)
Also available in cast aluminum
213.36 cm x 129.54 cm (84 in x 51 in)
Price upon request

This legless high-relief fencer, tethered to a late Gothic inspired arbor, is a protector, a cartoon defender of perceived civility. Mama’s In The Arbor is a glamorized heroine seen as both elegant and fierce, reaching beyond the roots of violence from which fencing grew as a sport. Her skirt is the arbor made of tranquil images yet rendered with the chaos of nature. Unrelenting vine growth produces the fruit of life as it weaves and traps its menagerie of unpredictable outcomes. With contemporary skills and finesse the challenge is clear. This larger than life installation plays homage to lofty precision in a dangerous world.

Pattern Recognition, 2014
Plater, graphite, enamel
64.77 cm x 109.22 cm (25.5 in x 43 in)
Price upon request

Pattern Recognition, a mid-relief portrait, is Morfit’s culmination of contemporary feminine influences which hints at reserves of power, desire, and even violence. His combination of a known Richard Avedon lioness image joined with a woman’s torso is overlaid with an Arts and Crafts wallpaper pattern. A controlled persona is revealed with underpinnings of antiquity yet conceptually current.

Self Portrait, With Trepann, 2013
Plaster, graphite, enamel
50.8 cm x 30.48 cm (20 in x 12 in)
Price upon request

This low-relief Self Portrait, With Trepann, gilded and blackened, hangs timeless on the wall. There is no sign, no marker, other than material that Morfit is — or was — of this period. His influences extend beyond the immediate and into the depths of art history. The ‘trepann’ is possibly his medical answer, a physical manifestation of inspiration and response, his release.

Jedediah Morfit Sculpture   ➤

Connecticut College, BA – Religion Studies Major, Art Minor, 1996
Rhode Island School of Design, MFA – Sculpture, 2005

National Sculpture Society, Dexter Jones Award, 2011, 2012
The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, Research and Development Grant, 2007, 2008, 2011
New Jersey State Council On the Arts, Fellow, 2009
Woodmere Art Museum, Louise Kahn Sculpture Award, 2006
Vermont Studio Center, Residency, 2004
Rhode Island School of Design, Award of Excellence, 2004
Rhode Island School of Design, Sylvia Leslie Herman Young Scholarship, 2004
Center For Emerging Visual Artists, Fellow, 2007-2009

2015
SUGARCUBE®, “Jedediah Morfit Sculpture,” Solo
Susan Maasch Fine Art, Gallery Artists: Group Exhibition, Portland, ME

2014
Waynflete Gallery, “Contradictory Nature,” Portland, ME, Solo
Chamber of Commerce, Galleries At The Chamber, Philadelphia

2013
Artlantic: WONDER, Atlantic City, NJ, Public Commission
Fair Folks & A Goat, “From On High,” NY, NY, Solo
Philadelphia Sculpture Gym, “Flat As Hell,” Solo
Chamber of Commerce, Galleries At The Chamber
Summerhall “1759,” Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

2012
The Columbus Museum, “Past Is Present,” Columbus, GA
The Rye Arts Center, “Beyond Rodin,” Rye, NY
Noyes Museum, “Visual Arts Fellowship Awards Exhibition,” Oceanville, NJ
Delaware Center For Contemporary Art, “Freak Antique; Contemporary Art Curios”
Moore College Of Art and Design, “Philadelphia Fiberarts Biennial”
Connecticut College, “Alumni Exhibition, New Haven”

2011
Abington Arts Center, “Solo Series,” Jenkintown, PA, Solo
Tyler College, “Patterns of Consumption,” Philadelphia
The Artist’s Project, NY, NY

2009
Pentimenti Gallery, “A Narrow Path,” Philadelphia, Solo
Eileen Tognini, “In Situ: 628,” Philadelphia

2008
Badheebahdu, “White Hot,” Philadelphia
Stripeman Gallery, “Winter,” Brooklyn
Icebox Exhibition Center, “Perspectives,” Philadelphia
Stripeman Gallery, “Kings and Queens,” Brooklyn
Leonard Pearlstein Gallery, “Far Away From The Beginning,” Philadelphia
Bebe Benoliel Gallery, “Decor/Decorum, with Joelle Jensen,” Philadelphia
Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, “Philadelphia Selections”
Richard Stockton Gallery, “Thinking On Paper”
Natural Selection, “Maryland Art Place,” Baltimore MD
Plymouth State College, “Standing On One Foot,” NH

2007
Richard Stockton Gallery, “Jedediah Morfit, Sculpture 2003 -2006,” Pomona NJ, Solo
Noyes Museum of Art, “Inspired Forces,” Oceanville, NJ
Eileen Tognini, “At Home,” Philadelphia
Memphis College Of Art, “Threads,” Memphis, TN
Icebox Exhibition Center, “23 Degrees,” Philadelphia
Bebe Benoliel Gallery, “En Masse,” Philadelphia
Moore College Of Art and Design, “Introductions,” Philadelphia
Gordon College, “Standing On One Foot,” Wenham, MA

2006
Woodmere Art Museum, “Annual Juried Show,” Philadelphia
Housatonic Museum, “Standing On One Foot,” Bridgeport, CT

2005
Boston Center For the Arts, “Standing On One Foot,” Boston
RKL Gallery, “The Thing Is…” Brooklyn