Artist’s Statement
“I am large, I contain multitudes” / Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass
As an artist, my paintings, prints, sculpture and public art are made with the attentiveness of a scientist, observing our natural world beyond the visible surface. My interest lies in the interconnected qualities of art and science, specifically the micro / macro patterns that reveal our connectedness; be it migratory avian flight patterns shared commonality with immigration routes, or how light pollution maps mirror viral molecular patterns, or aerial views of watershed systems that reveal vascular patterns. Through the act of creating, I am aware of being both infinitesimally minute and integrally part of a larger whole. It is this dichotomy and the vastness of these images that provides perspective to our humanity.
Residencies with scientists support the research that goes into my studio practice and enable a level of collaboration and interdisciplinary study that is only possible by working side by side in the laboratory. Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, Powdermill Nature Reserve ( Bio Field Station for Avian Research / Carnegie Museum of Natural History), Lacawac (Bio field Station, Drexel University) and Integral Molecular, (University City Science Center) gave me direct access to scientists, their laboratory experiments and data. Each residency culminates in projects such as, “Warbler Migration”, a permanent public art installation in Dublin, California; where migratory flight maps of the Orange Crowned Warbler, a threatened indigenous species, created a sculpture that speaks to my interest in conservation and environmental justice. Most recently, in a mural commissioned by Dickinson College, I used avian census, watershed maps, and nitrate levels to create a 25’ mural in an interdepartmental effort across the art and biology departments to bring awareness to environmental conservation efforts.
Recent collaborations with Integral Molecular, a molecular laboratory that focuses on curing viruses such as Ebola and HIV will culminate in a solo exhibition at the Esther Klein Gallery, a science, art and technology gallery in Philadelphia in August 2019. The Lacawac residency artwork will be on view at the University of Maine Museum of Art in a solo exhibition in January 2020.
Through the act of making, I am simultaneously part of the diminutive matrix of nature and an observer of our capacious world. Visualizing the scientific data of flight maps and molecular structures became a language to describe my relationship to nature and to the inter-connected quality in our lives, thus illuminating a path to seeing the world anew.
– Deirdre Murphy, 2019
Biography
Deirdre Murphy is a contemporary visual artist whose work delves into the intricate connections between art and science. Through the mediums of painting, printmaking, and collaborative sculpture, she explores the effects of the climate crisis on avian migration, nesting structures, and ecosystems. Murphy's artistic journey has been deeply intertwined with scientific inquiry, leading to collaborations with a diverse array of experts including ornithologists, biologists, neuroscientists, molecular scientists, and climatologist from esteemed institutions such as the University of Pennsylvania, Lehigh University, Washington College and Integral Molecular Laboratory.
Her artistic exploration has been enriched by residencies at renowned institutions including Penn State University's Shaver's Creek Environmental Center, Winterthur Museum, Hawk Mountain Bird Sanctuary, Powdermill Nature Reserve, and Drexel University's Academy of Natural Sciences. Throughout her career, Murphy has received recognition for her innovative work, earning grants and awards from prestigious organizations such as the Pennsylvania Council for the Arts, Percent for the Arts, CORE and Humanities Lab at Lehigh University, and the Leeway Grant. Murphy's art has been showcased in prominent museums and galleries, including Winterthur Museum, Zillman Art Museum, Palm Springs Museum, Biggs Museum of American Art, New Bedford Museum, Tacoma Art Museum, and the Philadelphia International Airport.
Deirdre Murphy holds an MFA degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a BFA degree from the Kansas City Art Institute. She serves as an Assistant Teaching Professor at Lehigh University in the Art, Architecture and Design department. Her artwork is represented by Chimaera Gallery (Philadelphia) and Susanna Gold Gallery and can be viewed at www.deirdremurphyart.com.
Photography credit: Blake Riesenfeld
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