Morgan Shimeld’s new SEVENMARKS exhibition, Earth and Sky, explores the relationship between the grounded and the infinite - an idea he’s been particularly fascinated with since moving to his home in the Blue Mountains.

Shimeld, who has been sculpting since graduating from Sydney College of the Arts in 2000, relocated from Sydney to the Blue Mountains with his family eight years ago. Since then, the natural world surrounding him has become a constant source of inspiration.

“When I was living in Sydney, I was more inspired by the built environment,” said Shimeld.

“Now, I’m still working with geometric abstraction, but I’m seeing those shapes more in a natural context - like the escarpments, cliffs, gorges and valleys that surround me. Those forms are filtering into the sculptures I create.”

This ongoing relationship between the built and the natural, the earth and the sky, the man-made and the ethereal, has become embedded in Shimeld’s practice. It’s most evident in his dual bodies of work: bronze sculptures and wire-based wall installations.

“The work I’m showing at SEVENMARKS is a combination of my bronze sculptures and the wall sculptures I also create,” he said.

“They both have quite different feels to them, but what's been great about this show is being able to see the creative thread that connects these two styles. This is the first time I’ve deliberately shown both styles together. The gallery space is big and really well-suited to showing a range of work with a bit of space around it.”

SEVENMARKS describes these two bodies of work as being in dialogue:

“Shimeld fabricates large and medium-scale bronze sculptures alongside delicate wire-based wall works. These contrasting materials are in conversation - the bronze forms evoke weight and permanence, while the wire pieces suggest lift, movement and impermanence - hovering between drawing and object.”

Interestingly, Shimeld reflects this duality in his creative process as well, balancing intuition with precision.

“There’s a large element of intuition, especially with the wire wall works. I get into a kind of creative zone while forming them. It’s intuitive in terms of knowing when a piece feels finished or balanced,” he said.

“I don’t do sketches for my work - I go straight into three-dimensional form, so the intuition is really essential. But there’s also precision in how those forms come together.”

Some of Shimeld's work. Photo: SEVENMARKS Gallery

Shimeld isn’t so much interested in the contrast between different forms or ideas, but rather how they can coexist.

“For me, coexistence is about responding to the environment you’re in - being inspired by it and understanding it, especially through a visual language. It’s about allowing both natural and human-made influences to sit together in one space or piece.”

That spirit of coexistence carries through into how Shimeld hopes audiences will experience Earth and Sky.

“I hope anyone who visits sees something new and different. The wire work, especially, is quite unique - sculptures on walls aren't something people see every day. The shadow play is something people often comment on.

“I also hope people get a sense of the warmth and materiality of the bronze too.”

Earth and Sky opens on Saturday, 25 October, from 5–7pm at SEVENMARKS Gallery.

Tickets are available here.

There will also be an Artist Talk featuring Shimeld in conversation with Richard Morecroft on Saturday, 8 November, at 6pm at Silica Restaurant.

The exhibition runs until 29 November 2025, and for Shimeld, the show holds a deeper personal resonance - it marks a creative reunion with SEVENMARKS founders Chick and Cobi.

“We all went to university together - about 25 years ago now. We’ve all gone off and followed our own creative paths, but we’ve stayed connected,” he said.

“We’d been talking about doing something together for a while, and the timing finally felt right. This exhibition is a really special opportunity to bring it all together. They're some of my oldest friends, and it just feels really meaningful to share this moment with them.”