By: Jay Broderick
Toronto, Canada - Nothing quite says Rock and Roll like skulls, snake hair and melting faces. These are some of the things you'll see at Toronto's Liss Gallery through the month of August as an artist collaboration between Billy Morrison (Billy is also a guitarist for punk rock icon Billy Idol) and Toronto native Johnathan Ball is on display. Opening night of the "Blood and Guts" gallery was on August 8, 2024, and we were honored to be on the guest list for this one of a kind gala.
With Billy Idol and his band being in the city for a date at Scotiabank Arena on August 9, and a break in the tour on August 8, the timing couldn't be better to have a kick-off to celebrate the art display.
Morrison's music career saw the guitarist involved in a number of different ventures, including playing bass for The Cult during a brief one-year stint in 2001. It was in 2010 however, that the musician joined British rocker Billy Idol's band, and he has remained a fixture in the band ever since. Morrison has also released 3 solo albums, but it turns out that music is not the only artform that pushes the UK born creator. A love for the visual arts began to sprout, and Billy Morrison took up painting. After some real serious collectors in the art world started to take notice, he rose even higher in his newfound success.
Collaboration
In meeting with Toronto visual artist Johnathan Ball, Morrison expressed his interest to showcase a display at the Toronto art gallery. Unfortunately, he didn't quite have enough pieces to fill the gallery, so Ball stepped up with some pieces of his own. The 2 artists also collaborated on 2 pieces. According to Ball, each artist created the basis of their respective pieces, forwarded the early work to the other, and the next added their own elements. Of course, there were discussions on what each were doing. It wasn't simply a free-for-all. The starting points were a skull (Billy's), and a portrait of Sophia Loren which was Ball's. Ball would essentially go on to add the textures and colours to the skull piece and Morrison would add the snake hair to the portrait, transforming it into Medusa.
In speaking with Billy Morrison during the event, he stated that the thing he loves about art is that it can represent whatever the viewer wants it to be. People need to come up with their own meaning of the work, and as such, he doesn't like to share what was in his mind, and what his intentions of the art is. Of course, he's able to read his audience and will tell some people his vision, while chooses not to with others. He happily speaks of his own collection including works from Andy Warhol, and says that he doesn't want Andy Warhol's version of events. He wants to enjoy the art for what he himself gets out of it.
On hand for the gala on this evening were a number of personalities from Toronto, including 680 Toronto radio anchor James Munroe (with whom I had some great laughs), Teenage Head guitarist and eventual vocalist Dave Desroches (with whom I had a fantastic evening chatting with), and Canadian singer/songwriter Marc Jordan. I could even say that there were likely a few other local celebrities that I just couldn't put my finger on.
Billy Morrison Acoustic Set
The first 2 hours of the "Blood and Guts" exhibit was a closed door/VIP only event, but at 8:00, the doors opened to the public. With Billy Idol's band in town, Morrison and a few others played an acoustic set. Word definitely got around for this one. I seemingly turned my head, and the Cumberland St. art gallery was a hell of a lot fuller than it was a mere couple minutes ago.
The set was a fun collection of cover songs, including Oasis' "Wonderwall" to which the patrons sang along to, and gave a loud applause at its conclusion. Cheap Trick's "Surrender" and Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" were also on the set list for the band. Ahead of the Pink Floyd cover, Billy Idol guitarist Steve Stevens appeared from the back of the venue to join the band in the corner of the gallery to play the track. Liss Gallery is not a massive art gallery. In fact, it's quite small all things considered. So seeing Stevens in such an intimate setting was really cool.
Last up for the Billy Morrison acoustic set was the bands version of "Knockin' on Heaven's Door". With very little gear, the band sounded great, and the visitors within the gallery were beyond pleased. It was such a great night to view the artwork of Billy Morrison and Johnathan Ball, but to get a real intimate night of music with Morrison, eventually Steve Stevens, and other members of Billy Idol's band was pretty surreal. After the band's conclusion of the Bob Dylan track, Morrison humbly claims that he can't sing, "but somebody else here can. Please welcome my boss Billy Idol." and lo-and-behold, out of the corner, the man himself joins the rest of his mates for an acoustic rendition of "Rebel Yell". If I thought being here at all with the rest of the celebrities was beyond cool enough, all of a sudden there is Steve Stevens. And then, right at the end, Billy Idol comes out of the shadows to sing for the 50 or so people. Amazingly cool! Definitely a night I will never forget!
As cool as the music was to close off the night, this was an art exhibit. I can't claim to be any kind of art connoisseur, or even know anything about it, but the pieces on display from both artists were super cool to stare into. The exhibit runs until August 31, and the artwork is available for purchase. If buying art is your thing, you'll definitely want to check this out, and possibly grab a piece of work from an artist that is very possibly going to be a sought after commodity. And if buying art is not your thing, but you are a music fan (which I assume you are since you are reading this), then how could you not want to check out Billy Morrison's work?
"Blood and Guts" Art Gallery - Photo Gallery
Billy Morrison Online
Johnathan Ball Online
event date: August 8, 2024
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