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COLLECTIBLE: How has your practice evolved since you began working in the field?

Billy Ray Morgan: Working less in my New York City studio and more in rural New England has really changed my work. I have moved away from harsh angles and a brutalist aesthetic, to embracing natural and even ornamental forms. I realize there isn’t much of a human story to tell when you strip things down to pure utility. Being closer to nature has prompted that shift.

C: What are the key questions you ask yourself before beginning a new piece?

BRM: Coming from a sculpture background, I try to create work that communicates an idea or a narrative rather than just existing as a physical object. I ask myself if I am making the piece to fulfill the expectation of the market, or the algorithm, or am I making it to express my own distinct voice. I go out of my way to avoid microtrends happening in both Design and Art.

C: Can you briefly describe your process, from the first idea to the finished object?

BRM: I’ll start with a quick drawing to get the idea down on paper. I stay away from mood boards and have moved away from CAD almost completely. I usually make a couple of maquettes and then just dive in. I feel like too much planning kills the fun. I want to be a little surprised at the outcome when I’m done.

C: How do materials shape the direction of your work?

BRM: I really like making one material look like another akin to a trompe l’oeil of materiality. I want to add a softness to things like steel, and coarseness to more delicate materials like porcelain. Combining disparate materials and pushing them until they become cohesive.

About Billy Ray Morgan

Inner Sanctum Studio was founded in 2025 by Billy Ray Morgan, a multidisciplinary artist, designer and fabricator based in New York City. Growing up in a family of metal and woodworkers, Morgan incorporates his fabrication background and his former career in fashion into his art practice.

His work has been exhibited in numerous museums and gallery shows, including COLLECTIBLE New York (2025); “Billy Ray Morgan: Pop Up”, Industry City (2023); “Wardell Milan: Amerika. God Bless You If It’s Good To You”, Bronx Museum of Art (2021); SOFA Chicago with Monica King Contemporary (2020); and “Timber!”, curated by Hannah Martin at Wanted Design (2019), among others. His work is held in private collections nationally and internationally, and his clients include Charlap Hyman & Herrero, 1 Hotel New York, ATM, Jack Daniel’s, Google, Prada and Public School.

For COLLECTIBLE New York 2026, Morgan presents new works that move from a Brutalist sensibility toward a biomorphic approach, introducing sand-cast aluminium, silver leaf resin forms, Raku-fired ceramics and a lighting piece incorporating iridescent beetle wings.