An Inspired Chat with Amy Morton of Truxton Circle | NOMA

We recently had the chance to connect with Amy Morton and have shared our conversation below.

Amy, we’re thrilled to have you with us today. Before we jump into your intro and the heart of the interview, let’s start with a bit of an ice breaker: What’s more important to you—intelligence, energy, or integrity?
Excellent question, as they are all very important attributes, but integrity for me is the most valuable. When I think of my relationships and friendships, integrity is what binds us. For me, integrity relates to emotional safety, trust, reliability and doing one’s best with a stance of honesty.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Amy Morton and I am the founder and chief curator of Morton Fine Art in Washington, DC. This year marks the 15th anniversary of my contemporary art gallery – a big milestone for me and my global artist-partners! I also have a trademarked mobile gallery -*a pop-up project -which I activate a few times a year in locations outside my brick-and-mortar DC space. I work with 30 artist-partners who create work which is both beautiful and also rich in substance and concept. I favor artwork which has a philosophical bent because it grows me, and I am also obsessed with artwork which is labor intensive and handmade.

Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
This is a theme I have been maturing into for a while. As a child I believed deeply in a life ascension story – meaning if I worked hard and earnestly put my best forward professionally and personally, I would be rewarded with an ongoing upward trajectory and its accompanying stability. Now I am much more a believer of life in flux – meaning every life has ups and downs regardless of how hard you work and what you put forward. The ups and downs provide us with opportunities to learn, grow and adapt, even when life is extremely challenging and difficult. I am doing my best to teach my children about these lifetime undulations early, so that they can roll with life’s challenges with greater ease, and know they are not failing at life when things are tough.

Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Yes, I thought about giving up during the early days of the pandemic when there was absolutely no business whatsoever. I felt exhausted and hopeless and really had a hard time imagining a business comeback. Dwelling in uncertainty without a plan isn’t really my personal style, so thankfully I was able to snap out of it and imagine adaptations I could make to my business to weather the storm. That period required a lot of out-of-the-box thinking and a willingness to do things new and different ways. Ultimately those changes have strengthened my gallery model. Since I am visual person, I’m a big fan of imagining a bold phoenix in flight as a reminder of resilience and that we can rise from our challenges stronger.

I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. Is the public version of you the real you?
Yes, although I am very introverted which probably doesn’t translate at an exhibition opening reception when I am talking everyone’s ear off! I have to recover after that kind of pushing out to a crowd.

Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. What are you doing today that won’t pay off for 7–10 years?
Great question! I am patient and disciplined, so most of the mini moves I’ve been making won’t pay off for decades…but, I have a plan! Right now, I am subscribing to some financial newsletters which provide tips on stocks to watch. I purchase a little bit here and a little bit there in hopes that in 7-10 years there’s appreciation. We’ll see. 🙂

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Image Credits
Photo credit: Jarrett Hendrix

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