November 10, 2020
Threshold Installation Image at BoxHeart Gallery 2020. Artwork by Deirdre Murphy.
“Deirdre Murphy’s recent solo show at BoxHeart Gallery in Pittsburgh was a triumph in artistic vision and resourcefulness. Threshold presents works from Murphy’s bio-art residencies looking at molecular viruses to Plein air works created while forced into quarantine due to the Coronavirus. It was prophetic that her recent work has focused on the oculus, looking at cells in a microscope and the solar system through a telescope. Focusing on the micro and macro levels of seeing created a body of work in which the cyclical shape and experience of time is reflected and reformed in our environment. Bringing the work made in collaboration with scientists into dialogue with her new works made in quarantine shows a strong continuation of visual vocabulary as well as a deep understanding of our relationship to that which we see, and that which we cannot.
Murphy’s work is a testament to the way artists see the world – in visual connections, formal associations, and conceptual implications. Finding solace in Plein air painting during quarantine, Murphy found a new oculus through which to view the world. Sketching from the edge of a graffiti-strewn drainage pipe, she looked out at a changing natural landscape as a metaphor for the quiet change all humanity was experiencing. The phrase tunnel vision is apt to describe our experience of the Coronavirus in the earlier months of quarantine – feeling as though all other stimuli were lost and we could only see through the limited pathway in front of us. The uncertainty and vision of possibilities Murphy both gazed upon and imagined through that threshold, yielded paintings with hope, beauty, and tranquility.
It is revelatory to see the cosmos, molecules, and a parallel for our daily attempts to escape isolation in this series of paintings. Murphy’s ability to conjure a new kind of home in the landscape through a fractured portal to reality provides a sliver of hope in our otherwise uncertain future.” -Amie Potsic
Threshold: Paintings by Deirdre Murphy at BoxHeart Gallery
© Deirdre Murphy, Cabin in the Woods , 30” x 30”, Oil on canvas, 2019
© Deirdre Murphy, Cabin by the Lake, 30 x 30”, Oil on canvas, 2019
© Deirdre Murphy, LOVE IS LOVE, 36” x 36”, Oil on canvas, 2020
© Deirdre Murphy, When They Slumber, 6” x 6”, Gouache on panel
© Deirdre Murphy, EXIT, 36” x 36” Oil on canvas, 2020
© Deirdre Murphy, Shooting Star / The World is Always More than I Can See, 46” x 38 “, Oil on canvas, 2019
© Deirdre Murphy, Oculus Major (detail) Luna Moth & Phosphorescent Fireflies, 36” x 48”, Oil on Canvas, 2019, 5 of 6 panels
© Deirdre Murphy, Oculus Major (detail) Italy Light Pollution Map, 36” x 48”, Oil on Canvas, 2019, 4 of 6 panels
© Deirdre Murphy, Oculus Major (detail) North America Light Pollution Map, 36” x 48”, Oil on Canvas, 2019, 2 of 6 panels
© Deirdre Murphy, Oculus Major (detail) Celtic Light Pollution Map, 36” x 48”, Oil on Canvas, 2019, 6 of 6 panels
About the Exhibition
Thresholds take you from one place to another. The thematic thread of the portal or circular vantage point can be imagined as a telescope, microscope, periscope, or binocular. These framing devices act as a threshold from one realm to another. This exhibition, which was partially made during the pandemic quarantine, is a departure from Murphy’s BioArt and a return to her seminal interest in Plein air painting. This shift is in response to feeling isolated and the desire for fresh air and life-affirming green during the quarantine. The circle is symbolic of the cycle of life with no beginning and no end that reveals the resilience of life, of the light at the end of the tunnel.
For more information, visit: https://boxheartgallery.com/
About the Artist
Deirdre Murphy has exhibited internationally and extensively in the United States in museums, galleries, and institutions including Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, Delaware, Minnesota, Washington, and Oregon. Her artwork has been exhibited at institutions including the Philadelphia International Airport, Palm Springs Museum of Art, Biggs Museum of American Art, New Bedford Art Museum, Tacoma Art Museum, University of Pennsylvania, and Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art. The recipient of numerous awards and grants, most notably a Percent for the Arts sculpture commission (Dublin, CA) the Pennsylvania Council for the Arts Fellowship, and a Leeway Foundation award, she has been an artist-in-residence at Winterthur Museum (DE), Lacawac Field Station (PA), Powdermill Nature Reserve (PA), Hawk Mountain Sanctuary (PA), Vermont Studio Center (VT), and Pouch Cove Artist Residency (St. Johns, Newfoundland). Her artwork has been published in Symbiosis, New American Paintings, and FreshPaint Magazine. Murphy’s artwork can be found in various public and private collections including Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center Museum, Temple University, AlphaMed Press, and Gamblin Artists Colors.
Murphy earned her MFA degree from the University of Pennsylvania and her BFA degree from the Kansas City Art Institute. She is a Visiting Assistant Professor at Lehigh University and taught at the University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University, and Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art. Murphy has been a visiting artist at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Pennsylvania College of Design, University of Texas, Philadelphia University, Kent State University, and Dickenson College. She is represented by the Gross McCleaf Gallery (Philadelphia), BoxHeart Gallery (Pittsburgh), and Zinc Contemporary Gallery (Seattle).
To learn more about Deirdre Murphy, visit: http://www.deirdremurphyart.com/