Toronto’s Liss Gallery are excited to give a first look into the collaboration between Toronto's own Johnathan Ball and visual artist / musician Billy Morrison.

Having the #1 song at rock radio would make anybody else’s year, but it isn’t quite enough living for Billy Morrison. With the habit-forming “Crack Cocaine”, his wildly successful pairing with the legendary Ozzy Osbourne, still coursing through the listening world’s bloodstream, Morrison is about to show off another side of his talent via an exhibit of his visual art at Toronto’s Liss Gallery.

Proving himself a true rockin’ renaissance man, the UK-born Morrison will dazzle the eyes of art buffs with his striking, sharply outlined imagery. Taking inspiration from influences that range from pop culture to the insect world to the printed media, Morrison deals in colors and contrasts that are as bold as his way with a guitar, following in the footsteps of his heroes Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring.

The show is being guest-curated by Canadian painter John Ball, who’s teamed with Morrison to produce two joint works that will be available in a highly limited edition of nine each. The artists will co-sign the original and limited-edition pieces, which will represent an engaging fusion of Morrison’s style-forward aesthetic and Ball’s complementary commingling of abstraction and urban realism.

The show runs from August 3 to 31, with an opening party set for Thursday, August 8. That event gets underway with a VIP reception at 5 p.m., after which the doors of the gallery will be thrown open to the general public from 7 to 9. Morrison will be performing an acoustic set for the occasion, bringing two of his artistic worlds into the tightest of orbits.

The Liss Gallery is located at 112 Cumberland Street, Toronto. For more information, call (416) 787-9872 or email info@lissgallery.com. 

His collaboration with Ball is just the latest evidence that Morrison plays well with others. In the past, he’s shared canvases with the likes of Lincoln Townley, Risk and Joey Feldman. And in the recording studio, he’s just about everybody’s favorite co-conspirator. One need look no farther than “Crack Cocaine”, the mutant blues workout that’s his second and most warmly welcomed team up with Ozzy. (It’s about love, not drugs, BTW.) Culled from Morrison’s third solo album, The Morrison Project, the song also features six-string god Steve Stevens, with whom Morrison has enjoyed a tight bond since they started playing together in Billy Idol’s band 14 years ago.

Cultivating enduring artistic relationships is almost second nature to Morrison. His year playing bass for The Cult on tour spawned the long-lived side projects Circus Diablo with guitarist Billy Duffy and Camp Freddy with drummer Matt Sorum (the latter of which eventually morphed into the supergroup Royal Machines). And in addition to his ample achievements in art and music, Morrison is a prolific actor who’s been seen in cult favorites like The Perfect Age of Rock ’n Roll and Reboot Camp.

While his art is on display at the Liss Gallery, Morrison will be on the road again with Billy Idol, playing rhythm guitar on a month-long tour of Canada (and one market in the American Northwest). Dates are as follows:

July 
27 – Project Pabst Festival, Portland, OR
30 – Rogers Arena, Vancouver, BC

August
2 – Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary, AB
5 – Sasktel Centre, Saskatoon, SK
6 – Canada Life Centre, Winnipeg, AB
9 – Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, ON
10 – Canadian Tire Centre, Ottawa, ON
13 – Kee to Bala, Bala, ON
14 – Budweiser Gardens, London, ON
16 – Bell Centre, Montreal, QC
19 – Videotron Centre, Quebec, QC
21 – Avenir Centre, Moncton, NB
23 – Scotiabank Centre, Halifax, NS
25 – Mary Browns Centre, St. Johns, NFLD

By the time it’s over, Morrison should have some great new ideas for images to immortalize — and an even bigger address book of potential creative partners to ring up.

Check out Billy Morrison's video for "Crack Cocaine" featuring Ozzy Osbourne and Steve Stevens:

(Photo credit: Jane Stuart)