Image of the poster for OUT printmaking exhibition

Showing at ‘OUT: St Leonards’ this January

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Carolyn Murphy will be showing work at ‘OUT: St Leonards’, this January along with 28 other selected printmakers. This printmaking exhibition is curated by Matty Emery. The theme of the show, ‘the outside’ is a metaphor for its one defining rule – no works will be framed. Every artwork will hold its own space outside the traditional print frame.

Image of the poster for the OUT: St Leonards exhibition
Poster for OUT: St Leonards
Graphic listing the 29 artists taking part in OUT exhibition
Participating artists in OUT: St Leonards

“OUT is a group show consisting of 29 artists whose practices push printmaking in different directions and whose work challenges the conventions of contemporary print. This exhibition responds to the increasing sameness of many print shows and proposes an alternative vision of what printmaking can be when freed from constraints”, explains Matty Emery.

Image of precariously stacked rock-like paper structures, created by artist Carolyn Murphy
Carolyn Murphy’s work ‘No Stone Unturned’

Carolyn will be showing ‘No Stone Unturned’, 3D paper structures, precariously stacked. “They suggest age, human input and solidity – but are simply hand printed paper, folded with no glue. I’m delighted to be showing the work at OUT, alongside so many great printmakers”, said Carolyn. She began making the monotype structures in 2022, to extend a large print installation work out onto the gallery floor.  Slowly her collection of these ‘rock’ sculptures has grown to over 100 in 7 designs.

The exhibition runs from 24 January to 1 February 2026 at Unit 2 Gallery, 8-10 London Road, St Leonards-on-Sea TN37 6AE. The gallery is open Thursday to Sunday. Opening times vary:

  • Saturday 24 January, 10am – 6pm
  • Sunday 25 January, 10am – 6pm
  • Thursday 29 January, 11am – 4pm
  • Friday 30 January, 11am – 6pm
  • Saturday 31 January, 10am – 6pm
  • Sunday 1 February, 10am – 6pm

The official opening is on Saturday 24 January, 2 – 6pm.

Artist printmaker Carolyn Murphy with her work in the Lake Gallery, West Kirby

Celebrating the end of the year with 2 Opens

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Carolyn Murphy is celebrating the end of 2025 with work in two Open exhibitions in the North West: ‘Bury Open’ and ‘Open 2025’ at the Lake Gallery in West Kirby. She was able to make the private view on the Wirral and visited the Bury Art Museum on another occasion to appreciate the show.

Carolyn with her work at the Wirral opening

Work in both exhibitions is for sale and both Opens continue into the New Year, so there is still plenty of time to see selected work across a wide range of media.

It was busy at the Lake Gallery PV

Open 2025 at the Lake Gallery, West Kirby, show is open Thursdays to Saturdays 10am to 4pm until 24 January 2026.

Carolyn with her work at the Bury Open 2025

Bury Open runs at Bury Art Museum, open Tuesdays to Saturdays, until 21 February 2026.

Bury Art Museum is a stunning setting
Poster for Festival of Print

Festival of Print in East London

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East London Printmaker’s Festival of Print is coming soon – and Carolyn Murphy will be showcasing new work from a series of monotypes called Fragile structures. This is Carolyn’s second time in the Festival, as an Associate Member, and FOP2025 will be at the Mile End Art Pavilion from 21 November to 30 November.

The Festival of Print is East London Printmakers’ annual exhibition – the highpoint of the creative year. FOP2025 celebrates the wide range of contemporary printmaking produced in the studio as well as the wealth of skill and talent at ELP, showcasing the work of established artists and emerging creatives. The Festival of Print offers visitors the rare opportunity to see and acquire original prints from around 100 participating artists. The Festival also highlights ELP’s values of community and cooperation, demonstrating the studio’s excellent facilities for printmaking using woodblock, screenprint, etching and lino. The Festival of Print will also launch this year’s limited-edition Box Set, a collection of 30x30cm prints for sale individually and as a set.

Venue: The Art Pavilion, Clinton Rd, London E3 4QY

Opening hours: 11-00am to 6-00pm (except Sunday 30th November at 4-00pm)

Late night evening with panel discussion: Friday 28th November at 6-00pm

Find out more: exhibition@eastlondonprintmakers.co.uk

http://www.eastlondonprintmakers.co.uk

Poster for Intersect exhibition

Intersect exhibition with Fankle Collective

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Carolyn Murphy will be part of the Intersect exhibition with Fankle Art Collective in Stratford, East London from 30 October to 21 November. Intersect brings together ten artists, who work across painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, textiles, ceramics, collage, photography, and film and video.  Carolyn will be presenting a large format print installation A Scream of Swifts as well as a new series of composite prints.

Poster design showing information on the Fankle Art Collective's Intersect exhibition

‘To meet and cross at a point’ is to intersect and this is Fankle’s fourth exhibition together, the fourth exploration of interconnecting ideas at a single point in place and time. Diverse ideas jostle within the space of the Stratford Unitarian Gallery, connecting and seeking out common ground.

As the Fankle Collective members make, remake, transform and deconstruct, for the brief period of the show, works overlap and interplay. Narratives that explore identity and relationships with nature or home, and notions of belonging and migration intersect with concepts of fragmentation and reconnection. We are reminded that a world of life is woven from strands, overlapping, contrasting, changing and fragile. Intersect celebrates those shared connections.

Image of blue linocut swifts hand printed on tissue paper, a detail from a work by Carolyn Murphy
‘A Scream of Swifts’ (detail), a linocut and laser cut print installation by artist Carolyn Murphy.

Fankle is a multidisciplinary art collective formed in 2023 by emerging artists from the Middlesex University MA Fine Art and MA Printmaking programmes. The name ‘Fankle’, a Scottish word for entanglement, reflects the complex web of ideas they draw together, as well as the varied generational and geographic origins of Fankle members, with threads extending from London to Manchester, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Berlin, Munich, Baghdad, Tehran and Mexico City.

Artists exhibiting in Intersect: Natalie Dee | Phil Dunn | Angela Forrester | Freddy McBride | Carolyn Murphy | Iliana Ortega-Alcázar | Jan Pimblett | Hanan Tawfiq | Kathy Rooney | Luke Anthony Rooney

For more information, check out www.fankle.art and @fankle.art on Instagram.

Open: Thursdays to Saturdays, 2pm – 6pm

Meet the Artists events: Saturday 8 November and Saturday 15 November, 2pm – 4pm

Stratford Unitarian Gallery, Stratford Unitarian, West Ham Lane, Stratford, London E15 4PH

www.stratfordunitariangallery.co.uk

The gallery is close to Stratford station (Central line, Jubilee line, DLR and Overground).

Image of Carolyn Murphy's collagraph, called Mixed Messages, on the wall at the Royal Academy

In the RA Summer Exhibition

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Carolyn Murphy will be in the RA Summer Exhibition 2025. Her artwork ‘Mixed Messages’ , a collagraph landscape, was selected from the 18,000 works submitted and will be on display at the Royal Academy in London, from 17 June until 17 August 2025.

Carolyn Murphy at the RA Summer Exhibition 2025 with her work

Held every year since 1769, the Summer Exhibition showcases work by Royal Academicians, experienced artists and emerging talent. Many works are available to buy and sales directly support exhibiting artists and the RA’s charitable work. The exhibition remains online until the end of November 2025 and work can be browsed and purchased on the RA website.

Carolyn last exhibited at the Summer Exhibition in 2023. “It’s a dream come true to be back so soon!”, she said and was able to visit the exhibition to see her work in Gallery VIII, curated by Sikelela Owen RA.

‘Mixed Messages’, a collagraph by Carolyn Murphy

Tickets on sale at www.royalacademy.org.uk and opening times are Tues – Sun: 10am – 6pm, Fri: 10am – 9pm.

Participants in a linocut workshop showing their artwork

Linocut Workshops in Manchester

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Carolyn Murphy regularly runs linocut workshops in Manchester with fellow printmaker Cate Gibson. The pair run the workshops at Sett Art Cafe, on Burton Road, in West Didsbury, a music and art space, with a lively events programme. Individuals can purchase tickets through the Eventbrite page on Sett’s website. There are dates out now for March and April.

Linocut workshop at Sett Art Cafe

The local printmakers have also run introduction to linocut workshops at Didsbury Parsonage. All materials are provided for the workshops, which tend to be 2.5 to 3 hours in length. Carolyn and Cate guide participants through how to create, cut and print their own linocut design. It’s a fun, informal printmaking session, that’s designed for adult beginners. They suggest people come with an idea or image – and wear clothes they don’t mind getting messy in.

Carolyn and Cate also organise group linocut workshops, normally for six to ten people. So, if you’re thinking of a workplace creative activity, either as part of a team building or staff wellbeing day, or for a group of friends, this is an activity that everyone can enjoy. Charity organisation Our Room Manchester included a workshop as part of their staff wellbeing day earlier this month. They provided the following feedback:

“Our staff team thoroughly enjoyed the linocutting workshop with Carolyn and Cate. It was the perfect balance between relaxing and challenging – we were absorbed in the process and loved learning a new skill! It was great to have a laugh together and come away with lovely pieces of artwork. The session was just what we needed for our wellbeing day and we’d highly recommend it!”

Carolyn and Cate announce linocut workshop dates on their social media. You can follow Carolyn on Instagram here. Alternatively, you can get in touch for a quote to your specific requirements, using the Contact page.

Image of artist printmaker Carolyn Murphy in front of her work

Bursary award

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Carolyn Murphy received an Artists’ Bursary award in 2024/5 from a-n, The Artists Information Company. This allowed her to document her solo exhibition ‘Layer over Layer’ at The Stone Space, with professional photographer Ellie Laycock, capturing individual pieces in the show as well as installation views of the exhibition and private view shots.

“This is an exciting development, at just the right time. I’m really grateful to a-n, for the opportunity to enhance my practice and capture my work in this way, helping me to take my work to the next level”, explained Carolyn.

The project included photography and videography and is the first part of the bursary request, which also included website development work. Below are some of the images of Carolyn Murphy’s work in ‘Layer over Layer’:

‘Layer over Layer’ is Carolyn’s first solo exhibition and it took place at The Stone Space gallery, in Leytonstone, East London, from 13 February to 9 March 2025. The exhibition featured printmaking works on paper, including large-scale print installations and 3D sculptural floor pieces.

Photographs by Ellie Laycock, supported by a bursary from a-n, The Artists Information Company.

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First solo exhibition

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Artist printmaker Carolyn Murphy’s first solo exhibition comes to The Stone Space gallery, in Leytonstone, East London. Layer over Layer features printmaking works on paper, including large-scale print installations and 3D sculptural floor pieces.

Inspired by the landscape and by a poem, ‘Tissue’ by Imtiaz Dharker, that links paper with skin, the exhibition title references layered print processes, layers of meaning, time and memory. Works in the show question appearances, illusions of stability and control, exploring ideas of damage and repair.

The exhibition runs from 13 February to 9 March 2025 and is open at weekends only: Saturdays 10am to 4pm and Sundays 12 to 4pm.

Works include ‘No Stone Unturned’, a collection of over 100 folded-hand-printed structures, suggesting the solidity of rock, precariously stacked. ‘A World We Share?’ takes over the gallery space, whilst ‘Lightly Tethered’, a kite installation, captures a sense of fragility.

The Stone Space is an independent not-for-profit gallery in Leytonstone, close to Leytonstone tube station on the Central Line. Opened in 2011, it occupies part of the ground floor of the Leytonstone Library Building. It is staffed by volunteers and led by a group of volunteer organisers who plan the exhibition programme.

Private view: Thursday 13 February 18.00 to 20.00

Artist’s Talk: Sunday 2 March 14.00 to 15.00

Gallery address: 6 Church Lane, Leytonstone E11 1HG

Photos by Ellie Laycock, supported by a bursary from a-n, The Artists Information Company.