Burton Morris
36″ × 48″
Acrylic, Spray Paint, and Layered Silkscreen on Canvas
Presented as part of Burton Morris’ solo exhibition Icons in Bloom at MASH Gallery, Parfum des Roses merges two of the artist’s newest visual investigations. The cultural permanence of the Chanel No. 5 perfume bottle intersects with the immersive abstraction of the rose, bringing together symbols of luxury, romance, and mass recognition. In Sea of Roses, Morris abstracts the single rose into dense visual environments through repeated silkscreen layering. Individual blossoms dissolve into collective movement. Within the composition, the iconic Chanel form emerges not as an isolated emblem, but as a structural anchor embedded within a shifting floral atmosphere.
While Morris’ earlier pieces relied on tightly rendered graphic contour and visual immediacy, this new body of work introduces layered surfaces and a more process-driven approach that challenges the traditional flatness associated with Pop Art. Where artists such as Andy Warhol and James Rosenquist emphasized reproduction and mechanical precision, Morris advances contemporary pop art by allowing the image to accumulate and expand. The Chanel bottle, influenced by Coco Chanel’s camellia motif and long-standing association with luxury culture, dissolves into a field of repeated roses that oscillate between abstraction and representation.
This shift from singular icon toward immersive visual landscape reflects a broader evolution within Morris’ practice, signaling a transformation in the conceptual boundaries of Pop Art itself. By layering mediums, Morris moves beyond Pop Art’s historical fixation on surface reproduction toward a more materially expressive visual experience.