MEMPHIS, TENN.- Memphis College of Art presents Image and Object: Works by Adam Hawk and Joe Morzuch, on view Jan. 7–Feb. 19 in the MCA Gallery at Playhouse on the Square, 66 S. Cooper St. A reception will be held Friday, Feb. 10 from 5–7 p.m. Hawk and Morzuch have exhibited extensively around the United States, and have joined forces to exhibit their work in this collaborative exhibition.

Morzuch is chair of MCA’s Painting/Drawing department, and Hawk teaches metalsmithing and sculpture, and has been instrumental in the recent expansion of MCA’s Metals department. Though Hawk and Morzuch are experts in seemingly disparate media, both of their works are informed by the shapes and forms found in natural and urban settings.

Morzuch’s paintings—characterized by thickly layered paint—feature images of urban detritus, flora and other everyday objects. “I read the work as an engagement with the formal difficulties of making a painting that is both image and object—and in a broader sense, a celebration of the everyday, commonplace and overlooked,” said Morzuch. Morzuch earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Western Illinois University in 2002, and a Master of Fine Arts from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale in 2006. He has taught at the college level for 13 years, and has exhibited his work at galleries around the country including Gallery 56 in Memphis, Six Summit Gallery in Ivoryton, Connecticut, Prince Street Gallery in New York City, and the Main Street Gallery in Groton, New York.

Hawk’s work is informed by the natural world and urban design. He is skilled in both traditional blacksmithing and enameling processes as well as modern 3D printing technology, and will display both types of works in the exhibition. While his process is driven by mastering technical challenges, his inspiration comes from various forms in nature. “The natural world guides me—a simple rock becomes a vessel, the body of a ghost crab becomes an alphabet,” said Hawk. Hawk earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Memphis College of Art in 2003, and a Master of Fine Arts from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. He has exhibited his work at the National Ornamental Metal Museum, where he has served as Lead Metalsmith, the Appalachian Center for Crafts in Smithville, Tennessee, the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wausau, Wisconsin, and the Fuller Craft Museum in Brockton, Massachusetts.