JOHN MURRAY
JOHN MURRAY, Barred
Acrylic on canvas, 55 x 45 cm
John Murray is a South African painter living and working in Cape Town. 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 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 viewerspecific 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 accumulated on the artists mixing palettes whilst working, have evolved into a series of paintings that allude to structures that simultaneously appear to be in the process of forming and disintegrating.
JOHN MURRAY, Cul-de-Sac
acrylic on board, 70 x 60.5 cm
John Murray is a South African painter living and working in Cape Town. Finding significance in the contrasting states between the tangible and the imperceptible, playfulness and seriousness, Murray moves between representational and nonrepresentational forms.
In Murray’s paintings the process of how the mind connects pictorial fragments and observations recalls the darting of the eye, the saccade at the heart of how the human brain processes visual information. The resulting images on canvas are a rewiring of conventional seeing, a mapping of the unconscious scramble of visual moments. The juxtaposition of forms and surfaces in Murray’s works are accumulative yet they simultaneously speak to the breaking down of a comfortable way to look at or ‘see’ the world around us.
- Natasha Norman
JOHN MURRAY, Curtail
Acrylic on canvas, 80 x 60.5 cm
John Murray is a South African painter living and working in Cape Town. Finding significance in the contrasting states between the tangible and the imperceptible, playfulness and seriousness, Murray moves between representational and nonrepresentational forms.
Murray’s imagery is unconsciously derived from the changing objects and scenes, signage, and streets of his home in South Africa. While previous works have tended towards the agricultural, this series evokes the industrial palimpsest. His surfaces tend toward the look of rusted machinery or painted metallic surfaces that peel helplessly beneath the intense rays of an African sun.
- Natasha Norman
JOHN MURRAY, Foundation
Acrylic on canvas, 80 x 60 cm
John Murray is a South African painter living and working in Cape Town. 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 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 accumulated on the artists mixing pallets while working have evolved in to an ongoing series of paintings that allude structures that are simultaneously in the process of forming or perhaps disintegrating.
JOHN MURRAY, Hinterland I
Acrylic on canvas, 100 x 80 cm
John Murray is a South African painter living and working in Cape Town. Finding significance in the contrasting states between the tangible and the imperceptible, playfulness and seriousness, Murray moves between representational and nonrepresentational forms.
In Murray’s paintings the process of how the mind connects pictorial fragments and observations recalls the darting of the eye, the saccade at the heart of how the human brain processes visual information. The resulting images on canvas are a rewiring of conventional seeing, a mapping of the unconscious scramble of visual moments. The juxtaposition of forms and surfaces in Murray’s works are accumulative yet they simultaneously speak to the breaking down of a comfortable way to look at or ‘see’ the world around us.
- Natasha Norman
JOHN MURRAY, Hinterland II
Acrylic on canvas, 100 x 80 cm
John Murray is a South African painter living and working in Cape Town. 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 collage and bricolage, the images used in Murray’s compositions are often interpretations of found objects and photographs. Some of these images have specific cultural, historical or political significance, while others are ephemera collected from the artist’s everyday surroundings. These composite images prompt viewer-specific responses and associations, while the juxtaposition of images act as triggers or catalysts for meaning.
JOHN MURRAY, Left Behind
Acrylic on canvas, 60 x 45 cm
John Murray is a South African painter living and working in Cape Town. 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 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 accumulated on the artists mixing pallets while working have evolved in to an ongoing series of paintings that allude structures that are simultaneously in the process of forming or perhaps disintegrating.
JOHN MURRAY, Meander
acrylic on wood blocks and canvas, 69 x 58 cm
John Murray is a South African painter living and working in Cape Town. 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 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 accumulated on the artists mixing pallets while working have evolved in to an ongoing series of paintings that allude structures that are simultaneously in the process of forming or perhaps disintegrating.
JOHN MURRAY, Mutate
Acrylic on canvas, 80 x 60 cm
John Murray is a South African painter living and working in Cape Town. 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 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 accumulated on the artists mixing pallets while working have evolved in to an ongoing series of paintings that allude structures that are simultaneously in the process of forming or perhaps disintegrating.
JOHN MURRAY, Out of Sight
acrylic on canvas board, 61 x 45 cm
John Murray is a South African painter living and working in Cape Town. Finding significance in the contrasting states between the tangible and the imperceptible, playfulness and seriousness, Murray moves between representational and nonrepresentational forms.
Murray’s works, originally inspired by the different colours that accumulate on the his palette, allude to structures that are in the process of forming, or perhaps simultaneously disintegrating. ‘For me these paintings function in a space of disorientation, falling short of being fully representational or coherent,’ says Murray.
JOHN MURRAY, Parts Revealed
Acrylic on canvas, 80 x 60 cm
John Murray is a South African painter living and working in Cape Town. Finding significance in the contrasting states between the tangible and the imperceptible, playfulness and seriousness, Murray moves between representational and nonrepresentational forms.
‘I think my work illustrates my fractured way of looking at things,’ notes Murray. ‘I like the idea of sifting through various objects, shards and images in search of something tangible, but unlike the archaeologist, my work doesn’t reach a conclusion.’
- John Murray
JOHN MURRAY, Retreat I
Acrylic on canvas, 85 x 57 cm
John Murray is a South African painter living and working in Cape Town. Finding significance in the contrasting states between the tangible and the imperceptible, playfulness and seriousness, Murray moves between representational and nonrepresentational forms.
In Murray’s paintings the process of how the mind connects pictorial fragments and observations recalls the darting of the eye, the saccade at the heart of how the human brain processes visual information. The resulting images on canvas are a rewiring of conventional seeing, a mapping of the unconscious scramble of visual moments. The juxtaposition of forms and surfaces in Murray’s works are accumulative yet they simultaneously speak to the breaking down of a comfortable way to look at or ‘see’ the world around us.
- Natasha Norman
JOHN MURRAY, Retreat II
Acrylic on canvas, 85 x 57 cm
John Murray is a South African painter living and working in Cape Town. Finding significance in the contrasting states between the tangible and the imperceptible, playfulness and seriousness, Murray moves between representational and nonrepresentational forms.
In Murray’s paintings the process of how the mind connects pictorial fragments and observations recalls the darting of the eye, the saccade at the heart of how the human brain processes visual information. The resulting images on canvas are a rewiring of conventional seeing, a mapping of the unconscious scramble of visual moments. The juxtaposition of forms and surfaces in Murray’s works are accumulative yet they simultaneously speak to the breaking down of a comfortable way to look at or ‘see’ the world around us.
- Natasha Norman
JOHN MURRAY, Second Yield
acrylic on board, 59 x 45 cm
John Murray is a South African painter living and working in Cape Town. 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 collage and bricolage, the images used in Murray’s compositions are often interpretations of found objects and photographs. Some of these images have specific cultural, historical or political significance, while others are ephemera collected from the artist’s everyday surroundings. These composite images prompt viewer-specific responses and associations, while the juxtaposition of images act as triggers or catalysts for meaning.
JOHN MURRAY, Stitch
Acrylic on canvas, 45 x 35 cm
John Murray is a South African painter living and working in Cape Town. Finding significance in the contrasting states between the tangible and the imperceptible, playfulness and seriousness, Murray moves between representational and nonrepresentational forms.
‘I see a certain value in the slow process often required to produce a painting or a body of work,’…For me it is almost like a performance piece, produced in the solitary confines of the studio, that counters our fast way of living. I think one of the enigmas of certain artworks is the ability to transcend time and trends.’
- John Murray
JOHN MURRAY, Unpack I
acrylic on canvas board, 30 x 21.5 cm
John Murray is a South African painter living and working in Cape Town. Finding significance in the contrasting states between the tangible and the imperceptible, playfulness and seriousness, Murray moves between representational and nonrepresentational forms.
Murray’s imagery is unconsciously derived from the changing objects and scenes, signage, and streets of his home in South Africa. While previous works have tended towards the agricultural, the Unpack series evokes the industrial palimpsest. His surfaces tend toward the look of rusted machinery or painted metallic surfaces that peel helplessly beneath the intense rays of an African sun.
- Natasha Norman
JOHN MURRAY, Unpack II
acrylic on canvas board, 30 x 21.5 cm
John Murray is a South African painter living and working in Cape Town. Finding significance in the contrasting states between the tangible and the imperceptible, playfulness and seriousness, Murray moves between representational and nonrepresentational forms.
Murray’s imagery is unconsciously derived from the changing objects and scenes, signage, and streets of his home in South Africa. While previous works have tended towards the agricultural, the Unpack series evokes the industrial palimpsest. His surfaces tend toward the look of rusted machinery or painted metallic surfaces that peel helplessly beneath the intense rays of an African sun.
- Natasha Norman
JOHN MURRAY, Unpack III
acrylic on canvas board, 30 x 21.5 cm
John Murray is a South African painter living and working in Cape Town. Finding significance in the contrasting states between the tangible and the imperceptible, playfulness and seriousness, Murray moves between representational and nonrepresentational forms.
Murray’s imagery is unconsciously derived from the changing objects and scenes, signage, and streets of his home in South Africa. While previous works have tended towards the agricultural, the Unpack series evokes the industrial palimpsest. His surfaces tend toward the look of rusted machinery or painted metallic surfaces that peel helplessly beneath the intense rays of an African sun.
- Natasha Norman
JOHN MURRAY, Unpack IV
acrylic on canvas board, 30 x 21.5 cm
John Murray is a South African painter living and working in Cape Town. Finding significance in the contrasting states between the tangible and the imperceptible, playfulness and seriousness, Murray moves between representational and nonrepresentational forms.
Murray’s imagery is unconsciously derived from the changing objects and scenes, signage, and streets of his home in South Africa. While previous works have tended towards the agricultural, the Unpack series evokes the industrial palimpsest. His surfaces tend toward the look of rusted machinery or painted metallic surfaces that peel helplessly beneath the intense rays of an African sun.
- Natasha Norman
JOHN MURRAY, Unpack IX
acrylic on canvas board, 30 x 21.5 cm
John Murray is a South African painter living and working in Cape Town. Finding significance in the contrasting states between the tangible and the imperceptible, playfulness and seriousness, Murray moves between representational and nonrepresentational forms.
Murray’s imagery is unconsciously derived from the changing objects and scenes, signage, and streets of his home in South Africa. While previous works have tended towards the agricultural, the Unpack series evokes the industrial palimpsest. His surfaces tend toward the look of rusted machinery or painted metallic surfaces that peel helplessly beneath the intense rays of an African sun.
- Natasha Norman
JOHN MURRAY, Unpack V
acrylic on canvas board, 30 x 21.5 cm
John Murray is a South African painter living and working in Cape Town. Finding significance in the contrasting states between the tangible and the imperceptible, playfulness and seriousness, Murray moves between representational and nonrepresentational forms.
Murray’s imagery is unconsciously derived from the changing objects and scenes, signage, and streets of his home in South Africa. While previous works have tended towards the agricultural, the Unpack series evokes the industrial palimpsest. His surfaces tend toward the look of rusted machinery or painted metallic surfaces that peel helplessly beneath the intense rays of an African sun.
- Natasha Norman
JOHN MURRAY, Unpack VI
acrylic on canvas board, 30 x 21.5 cm
John Murray is a South African painter living and working in Cape Town. Finding significance in the contrasting states between the tangible and the imperceptible, playfulness and seriousness, Murray moves between representational and nonrepresentational forms.
Murray’s imagery is unconsciously derived from the changing objects and scenes, signage, and streets of his home in South Africa. While previous works have tended towards the agricultural, the Unpack series evokes the industrial palimpsest. His surfaces tend toward the look of rusted machinery or painted metallic surfaces that peel helplessly beneath the intense rays of an African sun.
- Natasha Norman
JOHN MURRAY, Unpack VII
acrylic on canvas board, 30 x 21.5 cm
John Murray is a South African painter living and working in Cape Town. Finding significance in the contrasting states between the tangible and the imperceptible, playfulness and seriousness, Murray moves between representational and nonrepresentational forms.
Murray’s imagery is unconsciously derived from the changing objects and scenes, signage, and streets of his home in South Africa. While previous works have tended towards the agricultural, the Unpack series evokes the industrial palimpsest. His surfaces tend toward the look of rusted machinery or painted metallic surfaces that peel helplessly beneath the intense rays of an African sun.
- Natasha Norman
JOHN MURRAY, Unpack VIII
acrylic on canvas board, 30 x 21.5 cm
John Murray is a South African painter living and working in Cape Town. Finding significance in the contrasting states between the tangible and the imperceptible, playfulness and seriousness, Murray moves between representational and nonrepresentational forms.
Murray’s imagery is unconsciously derived from the changing objects and scenes, signage, and streets of his home in South Africa. While previous works have tended towards the agricultural, the Unpack series evokes the industrial palimpsest. His surfaces tend toward the look of rusted machinery or painted metallic surfaces that peel helplessly beneath the intense rays of an African sun.
- Natasha Norman
JOHN MURRAY, Unpack X
acrylic on canvas board, 30 x 21.5 cm
John Murray is a South African painter living and working in Cape Town. Finding significance in the contrasting states between the tangible and the imperceptible, playfulness and seriousness, Murray moves between representational and nonrepresentational forms.
Murray’s imagery is unconsciously derived from the changing objects and scenes, signage, and streets of his home in South Africa. While previous works have tended towards the agricultural, the Unpack series evokes the industrial palimpsest. His surfaces tend toward the look of rusted machinery or painted metallic surfaces that peel helplessly beneath the intense rays of an African sun.
- Natasha Norman
Specialists in contemporary art from South Africa. Established in 1913. South African artists are part of the global conversation. We seek to make their voices heard.