JOHN MURRAY
(b. 1973, Cape Town, South Africa)

John Murray is a South African painter living and working in Cape Town South Africa. Finding significance in the contrasting states between the tangible and the imperceptible, playfulness and seriousness, Murray moves between representational and nonrepresentational forms.

Working in oil on canvas as well as in collage and bricolage, the images used in his figurative compositions are often interpretations of found objects and photographs. Some of these images have specific cultural, historical or political significance, while others are trivia collected from the artist’s everyday surroundings. These composite images or compositions prompt viewer specific responses and associations, with the juxtaposition of images acting as triggers or catalysts for meaning.

More recently Murray’s work has leaned towards abstraction, not in its purest sense but rendered in a way that still hints at representational forms beneath the surface. These works - originally inspired by the different colours and hues that accumulate on the artist's mixing palette - have evolved into an ongoing series of paintings that allude to structures that are simultaneously in the process of forming and disintegrating.

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2019
Sum of its Parts, WHATIFTHEWORLD, Cape Town, South Africa

2017
Aftermath, WHATIFTHEWORLD, Johannesburg, South Africa

2015
Undo All, WHATIFTHEWORLD, Cape Town, South Africa

2014
Southern Guild 2013, Museum of African Design (MOAD), Johannesburg, South Africa

2013
Ecstatic Entropy, WHATIFTHEWORLD, Cape Town, South Africa

2012
Flotsam&Jetsam, Artspace Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa

2005
Africa for Africans, Stevenson, Cape Town, South Africa

2002
Black & White, AVA, Cape Town, South Africa
Meanwhile…., Art Association of Bellville, Bellville, South Africa 

2001
Undercover, Bell-Roberts, Cape Town, South Africa

2000
Solo exhibition, AVA, Cape Town, South Africa

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2024
Winter 2024, Everard Read, London, UK
Summer Light, Everard Read, London, UK

2016
Cape Town Art Fair, Cape Town, South Africa

2015
Undo All, WHATIFTHEWORLD, Cape Town, South Africa
Joburg Art Fair, WHATIFTHEWORLD, Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa

2014
Southern Guild 2013, Museum of African Design (MOAD), Johannesburg, South Africa

2013
Ecstatic Entropy, WHATIFTHEWORLD, Cape Town, South Africa
Stellenbosch Revisited, Sasol Museum, Stellenbosch, South Africa
Group exhibition curated by Julia Meintjes, Cavalli Gallery, Somerset West, South Africa
Positive Tension, WHATIFTHEWORLD, Cape Town, South Africa
The Loom of the Land, Stevenson, Johannesburg, South Africa

2012
Making Faces: Exploring Contemporary Practice through Portraiture, WHATIFTHEWORLD, Cape Town, South Africa
‘Tjorts!/Cheers!’ Curated by Marna Hattingh and Liza Grobler, A conversation between acclaimed and award-winning poet Danie Marais and participating visual artists Marna Hattingh, Tina Jensen, Marlise Keith, John Murray and Liza Grobler. Association for Visual Arts, Cape Town, South Africa

2011
Thinking Around: Mapping Sculpture, Tokara Gallery
Art on Paper - selection of South African art on paper, Casa Labia Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
Thami Mnyele Foundation - 20 years, CBK Zuidoost, Amsterdam, Holland
Ik ben een Afrikander, Artspace Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
Contemporary South African Painters, Kalk Bay Modern, Cape Town, South Africa

2010
99c, Drawing group exhibitions at Platform on 18th, Pretoria, South Africa
Rose Korber Art Salon, Cape Town, South Africa

2009
Spaza Sketsboek, Drawing group exhibitions at Platform on 18th, Pretoria, South Africa

2011
Ik ben een Afrikander | Reviewing the heritage and onus of the Afrikaner, Group Exhibition with Francki Burger, Hannelie Coetzee, Johann du Plessis, Pauline Gutter, Clare Menck, John Murray, Mea Ox, Henk Serfontein, Cobus van Bosch, Réney Warrington, Artspace, Johannesburg, South Africa
Contemporary South African Painters - Group Exhibition, Simon Stone, Kate Gottgens, John Murray & Giovanna Biallo, Kalk Bay Modern, Cape Town, South Africa

2008 – 2006
Teaching drawing at the University of Stellenbosch for the Visual Communication and Design course and Postgraduate Mphil Illustration course

2005
Art @ Work: A decade and more of the Sasol art collection, Oudtshoorn Arts Festival, Oudtshoorn, South Africa
Africa for Africans, Solo Exhibition, Michael Stevenson, Cape Town, South Africa
South African Art 1840-Now, Michael Stevenson, Cape Town, South Africa

2004
South African Art 1850-Now, Michael Stevenson, Cape Town, South Africa
Rose Korber Art Salon at the Bay, The Bay Hotel, Cape Town, South Africa
40 years: Artists and designers from the University of Stellenbosch, Salsol Art Museum, Stellenbosch, South Africa
Uniformed, Solo Exhibition, Michael Stevenson, Cape Town, South Africa
Identity, Group Exhibition of South African Art, Scheveningen, Fortis Circus Theatre, Holland

2003
Teken, Art on Paper, Johannesburg, South Africa
Rose Korber Art Salon at the Bay, The Bay Hotel, Cape Town, South Africa
Contact Zones, Group Exhibition, Michael Stevenson, Cape Town, South Africa

2002
Absa l’Atelier competition finals, Johannesburg, South Africa
Rose Korber Art Salon at the Bay, The Bay Hotel, Cape Town, South Africa
Group exhibition, Millennium Gallery, Pretoria, South Africa
White Horse Group Exhibition, Oudtshoorn Arts Festival, Oudtshoorn, South Africa

2001
Waver Group Exhibition, Oudtshoorn Arts Festival, Oudtshoorn, South Africa
Group Exhibition of South African work, Mac 21 Art Fair, Marbella, Spain
Exhibition of miniature paintings, Art Association of Bellville, Studio Exhibition, Bellville, South Africa

2000
Absolute: Colour Group Exhibition, AVA, Cape Town, South Africa
Plastic Bag Awareness Campaign, Collaborative Installation, Kirstenbosch, South Africa
Exhibited and co-curated Emergency Group Exhibition, Bell-Roberts
Container, Rust-en Vrede Gallery, Durbanville, South Africa

1999
Canvas, Arts Association of Bellville, Cape Town, South Africa

1998
Kunsdinge, US Gallery, Stellenbosch, South Africa
US Staff Exhibition, Association for Visual Arts (AVA), Cape Town, South Africa
Unplugged 3, Market Theatre Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa