2019
Gouache, watercolor on paper
33 x 35.5 cm | 13 x 14 in (unframed) 38.1 x 40.6 cm | 15 x 16 in (framed)
In Ciarán Murphy’s (1978 Mayo, IE) paintings we encounter an unsettling array of things; sticks, rocks, martian landscapes, insects, interiors, hands, letters, blank screens, architectural feature and geometric shapes. Objects seem in varying states of flux: things float, or seem in the midst of changing form, while other things seem barely there, are entirely absent, or in various states of becoming. They all seem to have in one way or another a vexed relationship to gravity.
2019
Gouache, watercolor on paper
33 x 35.5 cm | 13 x 14 in (unframed) 38.1 x 40.6 cm | 15 x 16 in (framed)
2018
Watercolour, gouache, oil on paper
23.5 x 32.5 cm | 9 1/4 x 12 3/4 in
2019
Gouache and watercolor on paper
45 x 37 cm | 17 3/4 x 14 5/8 in (unframed) 50.8 x 43.2 cm | 20 x 17 in (framed)
2019
oil on canvas
60 x 80 cm | 23 5/8 x 31 1/2 in
2019
Oil on canvas
35 x 45 cm | 13 3/4 x 17 3/4 in
2018
Watercolour, gouache on paper
23.5 x 32.5 cm | 9 1/4 x 12 3/4 in
2018
Watercolour, gouache tempera on paper
23.5 x 32.5 cm | 9 1/4 x 12 3/4 in
2018
Gouache, tempera, oil on paper
23.5 x 32.5 cm | 9 1/4 x 12 3/4 in
2018
Watercolour, gouache tempera on paper
23.5 x 32.5 cm | 9 1/4 x 12 3/4 in
2018
Watercolour, gouache tempera on paper
23.5 x 32.5 cm | 9 1/4 x 12 3/4 in
2018
Watercolour, gouache, oil on paper
23.5 x 32.5 cm | 9 1/4 x 12 3/4 in
2018
Watercolour, gouache tempera on paper
23.5 x 32.5 cm | 9 1/4 x 12 3/4 in
2018
Watercolour, gouache tempera on paper
23.5 x 32.5 cm | 9 1/4 x 12 3/4 in
2018
Watercolour, gouache tempera on paper
23.5 x 32.5 cm | 9 1/4 x 12 3/4 in
2018
Watercolour, gouache, tempera on paper
23.5 x 32.5 cm | 9 1/4 x 12 3/4 in
2018
Watercolour, gouache tempera on paper
23.5 x 32.5 cm | 9 1/4 x 12 3/4 in
2018
Gouache, tempera, oil on paper
23.5 x 32.5 cm | 9 1/4 x 12 3/4 in
2018
Watercolour, oil on paper
23.5 x 32.5 cm | 9 1/4 x 12 3/4 in
2018
Watercolour, gouache tempera on paper
23.5 x 32.5 cm | 9 1/4 x 12 3/4 in
2018
Watercolour, gouache, oil on paper
23.5 x 32.5 cm | 9 1/4 x 12 3/4 in
2018
Watercolour, gouache tempera on paper
23.5 x 32.5 cm | 9 1/4 x 12 3/4 in
2018
Watercolour, gouache tempera on paper
23.5 x 32.5 cm | 9 1/4 x 12 3/4 in
2018
Watercolour, gouache tempera on paper
23.5 x 32.5 cm | 9 1/4 x 12 3/4 in
2018
Watercolour, gouache, oil on paper
23.5 x 32.5 cm | 9 1/4 x 12 3/4 in
2018
Watercolour, gouache on paper
23.5 x 32.5 cm | 9 1/4 x 12 3/4 in
2018
Watercolour, gouache, oil on paper
23.5 x 32.5 cm | 9 1/4 x 12 3/4 in
2018
Watercolour, gouache tempera on paper
23.5 x 32.5 cm | 9 1/4 x 12 3/4 in
2018
Watercolour, gouache tempera on paper
23.5 x 32.5 cm | 9 1/4 x 12 3/4 in
2018
Watercolour, gouache tempera on paper
23.5 x 32.5 cm | 9 1/4 x 12 3/4 in
2018
Oil on linen
35 x 45 cm | 13 3/4 x 17 3/4 in
2018
Oil on linen
35 x 45 cm | 13 3/4 x 17 3/4 in
2014
Oil on canvas
40 x 40 cm | 15.8 x 15.8 in
2018
Oil on linen
30 x 40 cm | 11 3/4 x 15 3/4 in
2018
Oil on linen
40 x 50 cm | 15 3/4 x 19 3/4 in
2018
Oil on linen
50 x 60 cm | 19 3/4 x 23 5/8 in
2018
Oil on linen
40 x 50 cm | 15 3/4 x 19 3/4 in
2018
Oil on linen
45 x 35 cm | 17 3/4 x 13 3/4 in
2018
Oil on linen
40 x 50 cm | 15 3/4 x 19 3/4 in
2018
Oil on linen
40 x 50 cm | 15 3/4 x 19 3/4 in
2018
Oil on linen
40 x 40 cm | 15 3/4 x 15 3/4 in
2017
Oil and acrylic on canvas
35 x 45 cm | 13 3/4 x 17 3/4 in
2017
Acrylic and oil on canvas
35 x 45 cm | 13 3/4 x 17 3/4 in
2017
Watercolor, gouache and oil on canvas
60 x 50 cm | 23 5/8 x 19 3/4 in
2017
Oil on canvas
50 x 60 cm | 19 3/4 x 23 5/8 in
2017
Oil on linen
70 x 80 cm | 27 1/2 x 31 1/2 in
2017
Oil on linen
55 x 55 cm | 21 5/8 x 21 5/8 in
2017
Oil on linen
55 x 55 cm | 21 5/8 x 21 5/8 in
2017
Oil on linen
50 x 60 cm | 19 3/4 x 23 5/8 in
2017
Oil on linen
60 x 70 cm | 23 5/8 x 27 1/2 in
2017
Oil on linen
80 x 60 cm | 31 1/2 x 23 5/8 in
2017
Oil on canvas
35 x 45 cm | 13 3/4 x 17 3/4 in
2017
Oil and acrylic on canvas
20 x 30 cm | 7 7/8 x 11 3/4 in
2017
Oil on canvas
20 x 30 cm | 7 7/8 x 11 3/4 in
2017
Oil on linen
70 x 80 cm | 27 1/2 x 31 1/2 in
2017
Oil on canvas
40 x 40 cm | 15 3/4 x 15 3/4 in
2013
Oil on canvas
30 x 40 cm | 11.8 x 15.8 in
2014
Oil on canvas
70 x 50 cm | 27.6 x 19.7 in
2014
Oil on canvas
40 x 50 cm | 15 3/4 x 19 3/4 in
2014
Oil on canvas
51 x 56 cm | 20 1/8 x 22 1/8 in
2014
Oil on stretched paper
40 x 50 cm | 15 3/4 x 19 3/4 in
2013
Oil on canvas
70 x 80 cm | 27.6 x 31.5 in
2013
Oil on canvas
35 x 40 cm | 13 3/4 x 15 3/4 in
2014
Oil on paper
30 x 40 cm | 11.8 x 15.8 in
2013
Oil on canvas
40 x 40 cm | 15.8 x 15.8 in
2014
Oil on canvas
40 x 40 cm | 15 3/4 x 15 3/4 in
2013
Oil on canvas
90 x 120 cm | 35.4 x 47.2 in
2013
Oil on canvas
100 x 120 cm | 39.4 x 47.2 in
2013
Oil on canvas
60 x 80 cm | 23.6 x 31.5 in
2013
Oil on canvas
40 x 30 cm | 15 3/4 x 11 3/4 in
2013
Oil on canvas
120 x 150 cm | 47 1/4 x 59 1/8 in Collection of The Irish Museum of Modern Art
2014
Oil on canvas
40 x 50 cm | 15 3/4 x 19 3/4 in
2006
Oil on canvas
28 x 24 cm | 11 1/8 x 9 1/2 in
2006
Oil on stretched paper over board
24.5 x 32 cm | 9 5/8 x 12 5/8 in
2006
Oil on stretched paper
34 x 26.5 cm | 13 3/8 x 10 3/8 in
2008
Oil on canvas
100 x 120 cm | 39 3/8 x 47 1/4 in
2007
Oil on stretched paper over board
36.4 x 37.3 cm | 14 3/8 x 14 3/4 in
2006
Oil on board
34.8 x 28.3 cm | 13 3/4 x 11 1/8 in
2006
Oil on stretched paper over board
22.5 x 27 cm | 8 7/8 x 10 5/8 in
2007
Oil on linen
40 x 40 cm | 15 3/4 x 15 3/4 in
2006
Oil on canvas
33 x 30.4 cm | 13 x 12 in
2007
Oil on stretched paper over board
37 x 43 cm | 14 5/8 x 16 7/8 in
2007
Oil on stretched paper over board
44 x 50 cm | 17 3/8 x 19 3/4 in
2008
Oil on canvas
60 x 60 cm | 23 5/8 x 23 5/8 in
2010
Oil on canvas
90 x 120 cm | 35 3/8 x 47 1/4 in
2010
Oil on canvas
35 x 45 cm | 13 3/4 x 17 3/4 in
2008
Oil on stretched paper over board
40.5 x 48.2 cm | 16 x 19 in
2011
Watercolour on paper
21 x 30 cm | 8 1/4 x 11 3/4 in
In Ciarán Murphy’s paintings we encounter an unsettling array of things; sticks, rocks, martian landscapes, insects, interiors, hands, letters, blank screens, architectural feature and geometric shapes. Objects seem in varying states of flux: things float, or seem in the midst of changing form, while other things seem barely there, are entirely absent, or in various states of becoming. They all seem to have in one way or another a vexed relationship to gravity.
Murphy’s paintings can be understood as an effort to grapple with the fact that we live in a world where images are omnipresent, exerting an almost ghostly or spectral presence in our everyday existence. Temporalities are increasingly blurred and our very notions of what constitutes reality is, in itself, a process mediated by images. In some ways the work grapples with the idea of untangling representation from reality or if such an untangling is even possible.
Ciarán Murphy (1978 Mayo, IE) received his BA at the National College of Art & Design, Dublin in 2003 and his MA in Visual Arts Practices (MAVIS), IADT, Dublin in 2005. Solo exhibitions include 15 single-word titled paintings at Mother’s Tankstation, Dublin (IE); Ciarán Murphy at GRIMM, Amsterdam (NL); Ciarán Murphy at Kavi Gupta Gallery, Chicago (US); Ciarán Murphy Cerealart, Philadelphia (US); All That’s Air Melts Into Solid at GRIMM, Amsterdam (NL); The Paradise Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin (IE); A particular nothing GRIMM, Amsterdam (NL). Murphy has participated in group shows at Gallery Massimo Carassi, Milan (IT); Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin (IE); the Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin (IE); and the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin (IE).
GRIMM Press Release
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