PUTNEY, Vt. – NXT Gallery at Next Stage Arts presents “Forgotten Not Gone,” a powerful new exhibition by Brattleboro-based artist Joey Morgan. An opening reception will be held on Sunday, May 24, from 5-7 p.m. The public is invited to experience this deeply personal and visually arresting body of work and to meet the artist.
“Forgotten Not Gone” features a suite of 12 mixed-media collage works born from the remnants of “Have You Ever Loved Me?,” a previous project that was largely destroyed in a flood. From this loss, Morgan constructs a new narrative shaped by fragmentation, memory, and transformation. The resulting works carry visible traces of their past – where absence becomes as meaningful as presence.
While “Have You Ever Loved Me?” explored a highly public unraveling – centering on a politician’s on-camera suicide and media betrayal – “Forgotten Not Gone” shifts inward. Reassembled from salvaged drawings, the collages reflect more intimate ruptures and the complexities of personal connection. The works invite viewers into a space where meaning is fluid, and interpretation becomes part of the artistic process.
Morgan’s multidisciplinary practice is grounded in drawing, with a strong emphasis on materiality. Her work navigates the intersections of image, object, and projection, creating dynamic “gaps” that function like synapses, animating the space between elements. Drawing from fleeting or overlooked moments, her imagery hovers between clarity and ambiguity, offering an experience that is both immediate and evolving.
Since relocating to Brattleboro in 1998, Morgan has incorporated the textures and sensory details of the region into her work. Though rooted in a singular voice, her pieces ultimately take shape through viewer engagement, shifting with perception and presence.
Morgan’s work has been exhibited extensively across the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia. She has represented Canada at major international exhibitions, including the Sydney Biennial and 96 Containers in Copenhagen, and has shown at prominent institutions such as the National Gallery of Canada, the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, and the Vancouver Art Gallery.
“Forgotten Not Gone” will be on view May 8 – Aug. 9. The Next Stage Gallery is open during events, by appointment with the artist, or by contacting Next Stage Arts at info@nextstagearts.org or 802-387-0102.
Celebrate the opening of this compelling new exhibition and experience the resilience of art transformed through loss.