There is a peculiar logic in Murphy’s conjunction, one based on visual punning, a knowing exploitation of mid-century advertising for its sense of glamour, hope, and nostalgia.
The perfect antidote for these times, they are exquisitely drawn as to be almost photographic. Her dreamscapes play with the idyllic notions of an advertiser’s view of fashion, weather and domesticity. Thus, there remains ambiguity: Are they to be read as symbolically or literally present?
Marilyn Murphy lives in Whangarei and Nashville, where she taught as a professor of art at Vanderbilt University for 37 years. She has been awarded multiple grants and residencies and her work is in many public and private collections including the Kemper Collection, Huntsville Museum of Art, the Boston Museum School, and the Prudential and Bridgestone Collections. This is her first New Zealand show.
OREXART, 221 Ponsonby Road, E: rex@orexart.co.nz