Georgia Rose Murray’s paintings depict her fascination with the sublime effects of light and darkness on the natural landscape. Her holistic processes are guided by conscious and subconscious observations and by a visceral awareness of the mystical; the works explore our human existence on Earth in connection with the spirit world.
Writing and drawing throughout day and night, Murray constantly records significant conscious and subconscious observations, reflecting on all of her experiences with coloured pens in sketchbooks. The results of the holistic process amalgamate to form narratives which lead to the creation of paintings. Paintings are made on paper, un-stretched canvas or primed board with water and oil based paints including gloss, vivid powdered pigments and a range of additional mediums.
Murray uses the language of painting to explore the mystical reality of Northern landscapes. Due to her ongoing interest in light and darkness, her investigations in recent years have led her to Iceland during a period of Polar Night, to Svalbard, specifically to witness the Midnight Sun, further north again to take part in The Arctic Circle Autumn Residency and most recently she completed a circle of research by witnessing Arctic sunrise.
Significant interactions with remote natural landscapes create the baseline for innovative experiments with paint. The paintings reflect a transcendental existence, initiated by sublime experiences, which are recorded in the moment with coloured pens or water-based paint in sketchbooks, and then further developed with a combination of oil paint, gloss paint and vivid powdered pigments on wooden boards in her studio.
For Murray painting is essential in helping decipher energies and in facilitating heightened states of awareness: symbiotically her conscious and subconscious selves gauge the magnitude of human existence within the universe. This forms the autobiographical baseline for her holistically realised work.
Two months ago, in March 2020 Murray returned from an expedition to Svalbard, specifically to witness Arctic Sunrise. Currently her new paintings are locked in her studio which she isn’t allowed to travel to due to COVID-19 lockdown. Earlier this year ‘One Body One World’ exhibition, which was planned to open in Iceland as part of ASSW20, was cancelled.
During the winter of 2015 Georgia made an expedition to Iceland, to paint for one month. She worked up in the north western fjords, absorbing the majestic darkness and fleeting patterns of light which occur where the winter sun does not come up. Open returning to Scotland she created a new solo exhibition titles -LIGHT+SHADOW , which was inspired by the research she made in Iceland.
After the intense injection of darkness which Georgia experienced in Iceland, she knew that painting in response to light and Midnight Sun was the next step. During the summer of 2016, Murray was invited to spend the month of August as a guest of The Czech Center of Polar Ecology, Svalbard. Working alongside Scientists provided the opportunity to exchange knowledge and perspectives, empathising with the Arctic landscape on multiple levels.
The experience of creating painting research in such an incredible environment, amid 24 hours of daylight was ultimately inspiring, liberating and humbling. ARCTIC NORTH 1+1-1=1 , was the title of Murray’s first solo exhibition, after returning from the Arctic. Her newest works captured the reality of the Arctic on many layers; Depicting the intense beauty, alluring mysticism and sacred space of the Polar landscape; Within the paintings, brushmarks and colour expressively describe how it felt to be surrounded by such a powerful environment, where the elements and where nature, preside over humans.
In September 2015 Murray embarked on the inspirational journey of learning to split her time between painting and teaching, as she began working as a Contemporary Art Lecturer at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design. In the winter of 2016 Georgia moved (home and studio), to the Fife countryside, Scotland, where she happily lived and painted for a year before making an even bigger move to China. Through contacts at DJCAD, Georgia was offered the opportunity to apply for a Lecturing job at Sichuan Fine Arts Institute in China. Soon after a successful interview, Georgia was offered a new position of Programme Leader of The International Pre-Masters Course in Art and Design and she has been working in the role since January 2018. The opportunity has been fascinating and diverse so far; the international course provides a rich environment for cultural exchanges. The Sino-UK fusion fosters many challenges which are both exciting and motivating as well as frustrating- the whole experience encompasses a fantastic opportunity for Georgia to develop her skills as an International Lecturer and Artist.
In 2013 Georgia graduated with an MFA from Edinburgh College of Art, Edinburgh University. The pinnacle piece of work which she made for the final MFA Degree Show was titled CONSCIA , a 4.5 X 6.5 meter Oil painting, made on 15 boards which slot together. The MFA provided an ideal space to consider her practice and to explore alternative methods of creating work. One of the most valuable aspects of the course was the rich interaction which occurred among the diverse student cohort, which had been selected from all over the world. (For further information about this two year MFA period, see MFA blog: http://georgiarosewings.wordpress.com/
In 2009 Georgia Graduated with a First Class Honours Degree in Fine Art from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, Dundee University. Her practice was predominantly painting but at this time she also made Waterless Lithographs to further explore her themes and ideas. Since graduating from Duncan of Jordanstone Georgia has worked hard to maintain a constant painting practice, always ensuring that she provides a studio home for herself, where ever she is in the world.
PAINTING 2023 