Location : United States
Artist Bio (excerpt)

Christopher Murphy’s love of art and passion for creating has always been with him. From his earliest days growing up in Florida, he showed a natural ability in the visual arts. His parents encouraged him and by his senior year of high school, he had won several state art competitions. His hard work led to a major scholarship from the Columbus College of Art and Design.

At CCAD, Murphy excitedly explored the possibilities open to him within the different fields of art. Ultimately he discovered painting to be his true passion. Even so, the explorer in him compelled him to incorporate drawing, printmaking, and collage in his works.

After graduating in 1992 with a BFA he returned home to Orlando. Though he worked, like many artists, in related fields to keep a paycheck coming, he painted tirelessly, and exhibited his work at every opportunity. In time, he decided the next phase of his career would best be served by returning to school.

In 2005, Murphy enrolled in Graduate School at Georgia Southern University. While continuing to study painting he also taught college level courses as a graduate assistant for the art department. While in school he continued to show his work throughout the southeast. In 2007, Murphy was awarded his MFA.

After earning his Master of Fine Arts degree, intuition led Murphy to move to Charleston. On earlier visits, he sensed the vitality of the city and its natural surroundings. The move has proved sound. Murphy has found in Charleston a significant interest in art and a community willing and ready to join with artists to explore new forms of creative expression.

Artist Statement

As an artist, my goal is to create unique, expressive paintings using acrylic paint, found objects, and bits and pieces of any material that can be incorporated onto a canvas. In “arty” terms, I am an abstract expressionist. The strength of my images lies in their indecipherability, which prevents the viewer from instant identification and invites him or her to explore the work on a deeper level. A viewer might immediately see something in one of my paintings or they may simply see colors and shapes. What do you see in the painting below? Whatever it is, you’re not wrong. My work is completely open to interpretation.

In each composition I build up layers of paint, then gouge and sand the surface exposing parts of the under-painting to reveal previous versions of the work. I also incorporate found objects and random images which reflect my everyday experiences.

Painting for me is a process of discovery. The gestures, marks, and scribbles found throughout these works remind me that the practice of creating art transcends the materials. The act of painting itself gives me a great sense of fulfillment. Once completed the paintings become a source of enlightenment for me. By revealing the process in the painting, it is my hope the viewer can follow the same path and share a similar experience.