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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 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 March 4 - March 29, 2008 with an opening
reception on First Friday, March 7th, 6:00-8:30pm. Deirdre Murphy's new collection is an exuberant combination
of radiant colors, fantastical idealized landscapes, and animated characters.
Her interest in Japanese culture and the natural world are obvious and
effectively integrated into her new body of work. Buds bloom into origami
flowers, while butterflies pilgrimage to Machu Picchu. Western and Eastern
sensibilities are combined to compress and expand the space simultaneously. Birds are the main characters in this new body of work.
Murphy is enchanted with their ability to occupy both land and air giving
them freedom to go anywhere. Murphy's imagined landscapes are seen from
a bird's eye- literally, and challenge the idea of what is real and what
is abstract. Local institutions were inspiration for "Artifice."
The Academy of Natural Sciences, The Philadelphia Zoo, and a western Pennsylvania
taxidermy tavern all house artificial containment of nature, that Murphy
uses in her paintings. Murphy says of her work, "'Artifice'…
is the realization of my research. My paintings have evolved from these
artificial dioramas, the zoo's habitat exhibits and other contrived spaces.
The chicanery lies in the contrast of nature housed in artificial settings.
I find this contrast of real and artificial to be amusing, awkward and
beautiful. On a deeper level, this contrast reveals an illusory longing,
both to assimilate with nature yet to recognize our separateness."
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 three previous solo exhibitions at the Bridgette Mayer Gallery,
and was recently featured in a group show titled "Magical Realism,"
at the Abington Art Center in Jenkintown, PA. Murphy has also shown work
at the Vita Gallery, Portland OR, Mainline Art Center, Haverford PA, Abington
Art Center, Jenkintown PA, and the Phoenix Gallery, New York NY. She currently
lives in Philadelphia and teaches drawing and painting at the University
of Pennsylvania. "Artifice" will run through March 29th, 2008.
The artist will be present at the opening reception March, 7th from 6:00-8:30
p.m. The event is free and open to the public. Gallery hours are Tuesday-Saturday
10:00 - 6:00 p.m., other days by appointment. For additional information
please contact Bridgette Mayer, 215.413.8893 Fax 215.413.2283 ### |