Deirdre Murphy “Worlds Within Worlds"
April, 2006
Philadelphia, PA - The Bridgette Mayer Gallery is pleased to present a solo exhibition of new paintings by Philadelphia artist Deirdre Murphy. The show will run from April 5 – April 29, 2006 with an opening reception on First Friday, April 7th, 6:00-8:30pm. A mixed media installation entitled “Fantasma” by Jennifer Blazina will also be on view in the Gallery vault room.
Deirdre Murphy is an energetic painter whose lively canvases emanate a cascade of vibrant forms and colors. Influenced by the patterns of nature and the patterns found in decorative textiles, Murphy seeks to examine the individual’s relationship to the structure of his or her environment. She gains inspiration from such diverse sources as French damask silks, Japanese Uekio-e prints, Indian miniature paintings, Amish Quilts, and of course natural plant forms.
In her new works Murphy continues to investigate aspects of the contemporary world while creating rich layers of fantastic and imaginative landscapes. She focuses on the spaces occupied by cultural icons such as trains, boats and houses. These emblems are juxtaposed with the minute and carefully wrought beauties of the natural world. Her colorful paintings and drawings vibrate with the tensions and unexpected harmonies of disparate elements.
Vivid floral patterns engulf giant ocean liners and rainbows explode from behind the suburban home. Seeking to decode the patterns of relationships which exist within the dense fabric of modern life, Murphy paints the story we all fail to notice during our everyday routine. Beauty can be found in the most delicate of flower petals or in the most relentless of speeding trains, but the world that connects the two is endlessly complex and fascinating to the contemporary artist.
This exhibition will also include an installation called “Fantasma” by Jennifer Blazina. As an experience in photography and memory, Blazina’s work captures the last moments of childhood and the transition to the adult world. An installation of 50 cast hydrocal frames, created by the artist, all containing painted portraits of students from the past will line the Gallery vault room. Working with a collection of school pictures from the 1920s to 1950s Blazina brings to life the memories of distant childhood we all seem to share.
Deirdre Murphy received her M.F.A. in painting from the University of Pennsylvania – Graduate School of Fine Arts in 2000 and her B.F.A. from the Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City MO, in 1991. She has recently been awarded grants from the Pennsylvania Council for the Arts and the Abington Art Center Print Commission in 2004. In 2003 she received the Leeway Foundation Window of Opportunity Award. Murphy has had a previous show at the Bridgette Mayer Gallery in 2003 and was recently featured in a two-person exhibition entitled “Out of This World” at the Melanee Cooper Gallery in Chicago IL. Murphy has also shown work at the Vita Gallery, Portland OR, Mainline Art Center, Haverford PA, Abington Art Center, Jenkinstown PA, and the Phoenix Gallery, New York NY. She currently lives in Philadelphia and teaches drawing and painting at the University of Pennsylvania. “Worlds Within Worlds” will run through April 29th, 2006. The artist will be present at the opening reception April, 7th from 6:00-8:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. Gallery hours are Tuesday-Saturday 11:00 - 5:30 p.m., other days by appointment. For additional information please contact Bridgette Mayer, 215.413.8893 Fax 215.413.2283
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