PUTNEY—Next Stage Arts presents Forgotten Not Gone, a powerful new exhibition by Brattleboro-based artist Joey Morgan, with an opening reception on Sunday, May 24 from 5:00 to 7:00 pm at Next Stage, 15 Kimball Hill. The event is free and open to the public; RSVPs are encouraged at nextstagearts.org.
This new body of work—comprising 12 mixed media collages—emerges from the remnants of Morgan’s earlier project, Have You Ever Loved Me?, much of which was lost in a flood. Rather than reconstruct what was destroyed, Morgan has transformed those fragments into something entirely new. Forgotten Not Gone is an intimate and deeply affecting exploration of personal rupture, tracing the emotional terrain of betrayal, loss, and transformation.
Where the earlier work examined a highly public unraveling—centered on a politician’s on-camera suicide and the role of media—this exhibition turns inward. The salvaged drawings are reassembled into layered compositions that carry the visible marks of their own history. In these works, absence becomes as meaningful as presence, and fragmentation becomes a generative force.
Morgan’s multidisciplinary practice is grounded in drawing but extends into a broader investigation of materiality and perception. Her work navigates the space between image, object, and projection—what she describes as the “gaps” that give energy and motion to a piece. Drawing from fleeting or overlooked moments, the imagery resists fixed interpretation, inviting viewers into a more participatory, shifting experience.
Since relocating to Vermont in 1998, Morgan has incorporated elements of the region’s sensory landscape into her work—its textures, sounds, and remnants subtly informing her visual language. Though rooted in a singular perspective, her pieces are ultimately completed by the viewer, unfolding through individual encounters and emotional resonance.
Morgan’s work has been exhibited widely in site-specific installations and galleries 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 her work has been shown at 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 from May 8 through August 9. The Next Stage Gallery is open during events and by appointment with the artist, or by contacting Next Stage at info@nextstagearts.org or (802) 387-0102.
Join the community in celebrating the opening of this compelling exhibition and meet the artist at the reception.
