Flies on Milk, Green Eggs & Ham

To coincide with the exhibition in Gemeente Museum Den Haag, a comprehensive publication in English exploring Morgan Betz’s entire body of work. The title of the book is taken from one of Betz’s favourite books as a child, Green Eggs & Ham by Dr. Seuss. Flies on Milk refers to a line from a poem by French Medieval poet Francois Villon. But just like the visual motifs Betz uses, the origin is no longer of any consequence in this choice and combination. Using a mix of Pop Art and comics Morgan Betz (*1974, Amsterdam) creates his own unique visual idiom in which art history in the form of ‘High Art’ colludes with ‘Low Art’ – comics and advertising images. Betz is a daydreamer who draws and paints what he sees. But he does not regard everything he encounters as a potential painting. The decision to turn it into art is the culmination of a long process of deliberation, searching and looking at images with potential, and images he simply finds interesting. As he does this, he visualises memories, associations and feelings. And so fences, windows and doors become gateways to the imagination.

To coincide with the exhibition in Gemeente Museum Den Haag, a comprehensive publication in English exploring Morgan Betz’s entire body of work. The title of the book is taken from one of Betz’s favourite books as a child, Green Eggs & Ham by Dr. Seuss. Flies on Milk refers to a line from a poem by French Medieval poet Francois Villon. But just like the visual motifs Betz uses, the origin is no longer of any consequence in this choice and combination. Using a mix of Pop Art and comics Morgan Betz (*1974, Amsterdam) creates his own unique visual idiom in which art history in the form of ‘High Art’ colludes with ‘Low Art’ – comics and advertising images. Betz is a daydreamer who draws and paints what he sees. But he does not regard everything he encounters as a potential painting. The decision to turn it into art is the culmination of a long process of deliberation, searching and looking at images with potential, and images he simply finds interesting. As he does this, he visualises memories, associations and feelings. And so fences, windows and doors become gateways to the imagination.