A Window Into Your Soul. Symbols that provoke curiosity, messages that promote thought and equations that signify the complexities of the inner heart.
Such is the compelling swirl of paintings, sculptures and concept pieces emerging from the studio of L.A.-based Brendan Murphy. Charged with color and immediacy, his work explores the abstruse nature of the human spectrum of emotion--musing on everything from fear and uncertainty to the random and sometimes nonsensical decisions of the heart—demanding an awareness and dialogue with viewers. Mentored under iconic New York painters Eric Fischl, David Salle and Ross Bleckner, with celebrity fans like Serena Williams, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovik and pieces represented in over 600 private collections and at every major art fair, Murphy is one to watch.
Fresh off a major solo show in London last year, this is an artist currently entering new heights of his creative power, with works that read like a book into the inner workings of anyone who is fortunate enough to stand face to face with his captivating series. With a potential and drive that is limitless, Murphy invites collectors to delve further into the inner workings of their mind and find themselves within each of his pieces. And in a post-COVID-19 world, where connection is craved and emotions are explosive, his is a voice poised to resonate even more profoundly.
Think of the movie A Beautiful Mind for a glimpse into Murphy’s own brain and process. The artist predominantly uses symbols, shapes, and words to fill vast surface areas, for an abstract effect that’s science class chalkboard meets Jean-Michel Basquiat canvas. The writing in his works is pointedly haphazard and littered with everything from lyrics to words like love, lust, and passion. By design, it not only provokes a visual conversation on sight but prompts a deeper gut check too.
Murphy uses a wide range of impactful materials, tools and a patent-protected chroming technique to create his range of work. His spacemen sculptures and some of his fingerprint paintings, when crafted using a reflective silver-based chrome, cause viewers to quite literally confront themselves while gazing at his work. The spaceman, according to Murphy, is the embodiment of the human desire to look ahead and venture beyond boundaries, to step into the unknown and be present in the moment—to Murphy, that’s the purest form of existence. He’s continually inspired by the interplay of beauty, power and the human need to understand the energies of life.
“Inspiration for my work is exploring how we process emotions, the internal struggle that’s shared by everyone,” says Murphy. “Landing on a feeling is a very abstract process, it's never A+B=C. And mathematically, the use of universal symbols like the golden ratio, the fibonacci sequence or circles lays a foundation of subconscious connection. These are forums that exist inside all of us.”
Murphy’s personal journey—a professional basketball player turned Wall Street trader turned successful artist—naturally plays a major role in the work he produces. Everything from the trauma of 9/11 (as a Wall Street stockbroker, he lost friends and colleagues) to the highly charged atmosphere of playing sports professionally has shaped him as an artist and exposed him to wildly different lifestyles. 9/11, particularly, is the day he pinpoints as the turning point for him as an artist, a moment that made him question what it was he genuinely wanted to be doing with his life. The body of work he’s produced ever since is his answer.
Works by Brendan Murphy are currently on view online and by appointment starting May 11, 2020 through Art Angels LA. The gallerists have additionally created an exhibition preview for collectors with price information.
- Shaun Thompson
About Brendan Murphy
Brendan Murphy (B 1971 - ) is a world renowned contemporary artist whose works are found in prominent private collections and public displays around the world. Famous collectors include Serena Williams, Novak Djokovic, Larry Page, Warren Buffett, Ryan Gosling, Grant Cardone among many others.
Since his early career, Brendan has blended abstract and figurative forms to reveal meaning with deeper contemplations through his sculpture and painting pieces. Brendan believes it is in art’s potential where we can most universally transmit positive energy. He recognizes the effect this energy, when experienced as a collective, can have on society as a whole.
In 2021, Brendan founded the Boonji Project and did his first NFT drop of the Boonji Avatars. It became the biggest NFT primary sale in history. He is also the man behind “Frozen with Desire” sculpture. A 42” spaceman covered in 6,200 responsibly sourced diamonds with a total weight of 517-carats. In 2022, he also installed a 13' Boonji Spaceman sculpture in Minute Maid Park Stadium, home of the Houston Astros baseball team.
Brendan currently works from his studio in Miami, FL.
The sculptural work of Brendan Murphy communicates a rare perspective on the modern human experience through explorations of form, color, language, and universal symbols. Thematically, Brendan Murphy explores the interplay of beauty, power and the need to understand the source of all the energies of life.
The inspirations of the work; formulas, equations, relationships; create a pictorial spectrum of human emotion and the unifying natures of shared humanity. Through the layering of these emblems, Brendan Murphy’s painted works boldly portray careful imagery and density of the human experience, exposing the deep natural beauty that surface in this fragile balance.
Close
