Shannon Alexander Murphy is an Australian artist residing in Berlin.
His large scale works are inspired by the Japanese tradition of Suminagashi, an ancient technique of marbling that originated in the 12th century.
Murphy’s underwater paintings apply the chance effect of “floating ink” in a swimming pool of water to create marbled patterns on large-scale canvases.
The unique and highly visceral process of this method raises important questions regarding artistic authorship and the agency of matter, and how a non-anthropocentric relationship to the natural elements can be embraced through artistic practice.
After a year marked by a record-breaking number of floods and natural disasters, this project forms a timely manifestation of an environmental sensibility that proves both politically urgent and artistically compelling. In his strong sensibility toward nature and natural phenomena, Murphy’s work represents and expands on a strong tradition within Australia’s artistic legacy, by which it has attained an important global voice in the defence of environmental sustainability and innovation.
Education
2010 Master of Fine Art (Media Installation), The Bauhaus School, Weimar, Germany.
2009 Master of Art (Painting), College of Fine Art, Sydney.
2003 Bachelor of Arts (Contemporary Media), Deakin University, Melbourne.
1999 Bachelor of Arts (Sociology), La Trobe University, Melbourne.
Select recent exhibitions
2017 Shannon Alexander Murphy. The Natural History Museum, Chemnitz, Germany.
2016 Landscape Is A State Of Mind. The Australian Embassy, Berlin, Germany.
2011 The Dinner Party Tokyo. Featuring Maggie Beer & Joni Waka, Japan.
2010 The Arms Race, World Futures 2020, Boston, USA.
2010 The Dinner Party, Kudos Gallery, Sydney, Australia. With Felicity Fenner.
2009 The Boat Exploration, The Natural History Museum, Jena, Germany.
2006 Landscape Interventions (live), inner city Barcelona, Spain.
2005 Humans in Conflict, Open Mind Gallery, Milan, Italy.
Upcoming Solo Exhibitions
Jan 2018 Thomgallery, NSW Australia
April 2018 Deutsche Bank, Saxony, Germany
May 2018 Weserhalle, Berlin.
Galerie Luc Berthier, Paris, France
Awards
2017 Global Foundries Germany, New York Sponsorship for Museum, Germany.
2010 Arts NSW- quick Grant, Sydney.
2010 COFA-ADG grant, Sydney.
2010 Selected into the Top 40 Emerging Artists- Artmouth & A.b.a.F, Sydney.
2009 Artwork selected to represent 90th Birthday of The Bauhaus School, Germany.
New Work Grant, COFA, Sydney.
2009 The Bauhaus School- Cultural Exchange, Germany.
Collections
2002-2017 Various Private Collections in Italy, Japan, Spain, Australia and Germany.
Commissions
2017 Shannon Alexander Murphy. The Natural History Museum, Chemnitz, Germany.
2015 Landscape Is A State Of Mind, The Australian Embassy- Berlin, Germany.
2010 The Mind’s Eye. Australian Photographic Publication. A collection of 50 images.
The Arms Race@ The Red Centre, Sydney, for the ConnectEd Exhibition and Conference.
2009 Artwork selected to represent the 90th Anniversary of artists from the Bauhaus School.
Featured in International Publications
Time Magazine USA
The Financial Times New York
The New York Observer
Celebrity Networth
Artforum Magazine
Australian Art Review
SBS Television
Architectural Digest International