day-dreaming

four female painters

September 10th — October 2nd 2005

Margaret Murphy

Series based on Sweet 16 figurines found in dollar stores throughout New York and New Jersey and during my travels.

Statement

My concerns in painting revolve around the idea of authenticity and material culture. The blurring of distinctions between what is "real" and what is "fake" is a visual and conceptual dilemma that permeates my work. My current body of work explores these ideas by way of dollar store figurines, souvenirs, and found patterns.

The series is twofold. The large, 60" x 40" watercolor and acrylic paintings are of female figures in ball gowns. Elusive and inexplicable the figures - always painted from the back - represent the uncertainty of self. Inspired from mass produced rather flatly modeled figurines, I am painting them with more dimension both psychologically and physically to give them the appearance of life. I look for the gesture or pose in the statue that will evoke the strongest emotional response when isolated and bring the viewer into the presence of the figure. They are painted near life-size and with a strong spotlight on them to create a sense of urgency. Because you cannot see the face of the figures you are not quite sure what they are expressing emotionally. In this way the viewer can bring their own memory, anxiety and questions to the experience of looking at the painting.

The small series I call Decoys. They are 22" x 15" watercolor paintings of figurines depicting female figures and animals. Through these paintings I am further exploring the meaning of authenticity and representation. The patterned backgrounds I am recently incorporating into the paintings are part of the examination of authenticity. Inauthentic nature with the inauthentic person or animal in an inauthentic setting, decoys for reality in an age of "reality" entertainment and documentary.

SOLO EXHIBITIONS:
2005	Decoys, The Jersey City Museum (September 2005) Orangesideout.com, Online Portfolio Exhibition (August 2005)
2003	Watercolors, Potter Library Gallery, Ramapo College of New Jersey
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS:
2006	Anthony Giordano Gallery, Dowling College. Group Figure Exhibition, January 2006 (upcoming)
2005	“day-dreaming”, hpgrp gallery, NY. September 2005 Girl Talk, The Garage, NJ. Curated by Margaret Murphy
2004	PSYCH-FOLK, QUINN the ESKIMO Gallery, NY. Group Exhibition Postcards from the Edge, Brent Sikkema Gallery, NY. What Have You Got To Say? Grace Church, Jersey City Studio Tour Art Star/ Sausage Factory. Debs & Co. NY, NY
2003	Cultural Exploration, The Morris Museum. (Catalogue) 2nd Annual Off the Wall, Jersey City Museum. Art -O- Mat, Jersey City Museum. Postcards from the Edge, Galerie LeLong. $99 Bargain Store Show, Cynthia Broan Gallery, NY Consumer Reports. Tomasulo Gallery of Union County College, NJ. Curated by Margaret Murphy Forms of Matter: artists’ views of nature. Victory Hall, Jersey City
2002	Off The Wall, Jersey City Museum The New Jersey City University, Faculty Exhibition William Paterson University, Faculty Exhibition
2001	Skin Deep, Islip Art Museum, curated by Catherine Valenza, East Islip, NY Not Just an Adjunct, Kresge and Pascal Galleries, Ramapo College of NJ. Curated by Sydney Jenkins Aljira Emerge 2000, Aljira Center for Contemporary Art, Newark, NJ. (catalogue), curated by Richard Klein Artist in Residence Open Studio, Newark Museum.
2000	Living Doll, The Work Space, Soho, NYC SOLOEXHIBITION: la belle et la bête, Silicon Gallery, Brooklyn, NY Artist’s Books/Paintings, d.u.m.b.o. Arts Festival 2000, Brooklyn, NY Summer 2000 Artists Books Tour, Cencebaugh Contemporary, Chelsea, NYC
1999 - 1997	Strokes of Genius, Montclair Museum. 25th Anniversary of the New Jersey Printmaking Council, Newark Museum. Curated by Miriam Beerman. Newark, NJ (Catalogue) American Sentences, Sponsored Reality. Union City, NJ 1999 NIGHT OF 1000 DRAWINGS, ARTISTS SPACE. NY. The Passion, Richard Anderson Gallery, NY. The Aljira National 4, Aljira Center for Contemporary Art, Newark, NJ Image/Mileage, Sponsored Reality. Union City, NJ.
1996	Pier Show IV, Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition. Red Hook, Brooklyn Biennial, Charas/ El Bohio. New York.
1995	Small Works Show, Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition
1994	The Faculty Invites, Raritan Valley Community College. (Catalogue) Art and Social Justice, Colfax Cultural Center, South Bend, Indiana Home Improvements: Demolishing Domesticity, WomanMade Gallery, Chicago
1992	Right With the World, Ten in One Gallery, Chicago Washington Project for the Arts, Artists Book, Washington, D.C.
AWARDS AND HONORS:
2006 Weir Farm Trust, Visiting Artist. Exhibition and catalogue 2006. 2005 Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (VCCA), Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation Fellowship. 2005 Pro Arts, Individual Project Grant to install Girl Talk exhibition. 2004 Vermont Studio Center Residency, Individual Artist Grant. 2003 Finalist- Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Woolworth Studio Residency. 2001 Artist-in-Residence, Newark Museum. 1999 Aljira Emerge 2000 Participant, Aljira A Center for Contemporary Art. 1994 Community Arts Assistance Program Grant, Chicago. project grant. 1993 Community Arts Assistance Program Grant, Chicago. project grant. 1993 Change Inc., Emergency assistance grant. Robert Rauschenburg Director. 1993 MacDowell Colony Residency, Peterborough, New Hampshire. Travel Award funded by the MacArthur Foundation and the David and Rosamond Putnam Transportation Fund.
BIOGRAPHY : Genocchio, Benjamin. The Oil Stain Is Not Part Of the Exhibit. The New York Times, Arts and Entertainment, March 6, 2005. De Villava, Roxanne. Girl power unveiled in Jersey City Heights. The Jersey Journal. Feb. 25, 2005. Granieri, Laurie. Bigger, Better, More. Home News Tribune, January 17, 2003. Harrison, Helen. Taking a Post-Modern Look at Tattoos as Art. Arts and Entertainment, Art Reviews. The New York Times. Sunday January 20, 2002. Nancy Keating. Art Review: “Skin Deep” at Islip Art Museum. Islip Bulletin, Dec. 13, 2001. Lee Little: Producer. State of the Arts - Margaret Murphy, New Jersey Network. WNJN Air Date March 24 & 25, 2001. Klein, Richard. “Aljira Emerge 2000 Exhibition,” (exhibition catalogue) Aljira, Newark, NJ; March - April 2000. Bischoff, Dan. Farewell heralds new beginnings. The Star Ledger, March 24-30, 2000. Zimmer, William. Looking for Art in Unexpected (but welcome) Places. The New York Times, Sunday October 11, 1998.
COMMISSIONS: Montclair Art Museum, Montclair, NJ. Commissioned to design and create a site specific installation for a miniature golf course. Golf Course was open to the public from May - October 1998.
COLLECTIONS: MOMA - Franklin Furnace Artist Book Archive Geoffrey Hendricks - NY, NY Terry Gelenian Wood - Montclair, NJ Leon Golub - NY, NY Judith Brodsky - Princeton, NJ Numerous private collections
EDUCATION: 1992 Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University. MFA, Painting. 1990 Towson State University, Towson, Md. BS, Art Department Honors, Summa Cum Laude.

day-dreaming

four female painters

Margaret Murphy

Statement

SOLO EXHIBITIONS:

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS:

AWARDS AND HONORS:

BIOGRAPHY :

COMMISSIONS:

COLLECTIONS:

EDUCATION: