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In the RA Summer Exhibition 2023

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Carolyn Murphy has work in the Royal Academy (RA) Summer Exhibition 2023. ‘Below the Pike’ is a collagraph print inspired by Stoodley Pike in West Yorkshire and it’s on show in Gallery Five of this prestigious annual open exhibition. The original monument was erected high on the Pennines to mark the defeat of Napoleon. It was then rebuilt in 1856 after a lightning strike.

‘Below the Pike’, original collagraph by Carolyn Murphy

Carolyn is a keen walker and regularly walks in the Pennine hills. She is interested in human interventions in the landscape. This work reflects on layers of history and human exploitation of the area, which is now increasingly valued as an important natural habitat, following its industrial past. ‘Below the Pike’ is for sale via the Royal Academy in an edition of ten.

Encouraged by tutors to submit work to open calls and pursue all opportunities to exhibit, Carolyn entered for the first time this year and was successful. Each year around 15,000 people apply to show work alongside the Royal Academicians so competition is always fierce. David Remfry RA is the Summer Exhibition co-ordinator 2023 and his theme is Only Connect.

Carolyn explained, ‘I could not be more excited to have work included in the Summer Exhibition. It has been an ambition of mine for many years but I have not been brave enough to have a go until 2023! I’m planning to visit regularly to take in this huge and exciting show. The ‘Varnishing Day’ was a fabulous experience – a day to savour forever. It was amazing to meet other exhibitors and view the exhibition before it opens.’

Artist Carolyn Murphy on Varnishing Day 2023

The Summer Exhibition is open to the public from 13 June to 20 August 2023 – tickets are available from the Royal Academy.

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Fankle 01 exhibition at Coningsby Gallery

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The ‘Fankle 01’ exhibition opens in July at Coningsby Gallery in London. Fankle is a new art collective, of emerging artists from across the UK, who work independently and come together to exhibit. A complex web of ideas and a shared love of creating unites their practices.

As they weave stories from memory, experience and mythology, tangling and untangling, we’re reminded of the idea that a world of life is woven from knots. The name ‘Fankle’ is Scottish in origin and means entanglement, like threads where the beginnings and ends are uncertain.

Fankle 01 is the first exhibition in Central London to bring together these artists as a group. Artists will show recently produced contemporary work, across painting, sculpture, printmaking, video and installation. Fankle 01 reflects the start of a new journey, with themes of identity, fragility and transition.

Carolyn Murphy will be exhibiting new monotypes from the series ‘Revisiting New Quay’ which relate to her memories of a visit to the Welsh fishing village. She created the prints for a recent video essay project.

‘Revisiting New Quay I’ by Carolyn Murphy

Members of the group are connected by their links to Middlesex University, as former or current students on the MA Fine Art and MA Printmaking programmes. Their threads stretch far beyond London – to Manchester, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Berlin, Munich, Baghdad, Tehran and Mexico City.

Their first exhibition provides an opportunity for reflection on community, hope and times of change. Fankle 01 opens on Monday 10 July and runs until Saturday 15 July, with the private view, on Monday 10 July at 6pm.  This show includes work by Fankle art collective members: 

  • Maryam Abdollahi 
  • Natalie Dee 
  • Phil Dunn 
  • Angela Forrester 
  • Freddy McBride 
  • Carolyn Murphy
  • Moritz Nicolai 
  • Iliana Ortega-Alcázar  
  • Jan Pimblett 
  • Hanan Tawfiq 
  • Kathy Rooney 
  • Luke Anthony Rooney (guest artist)

Katherine Jones RA commented “I’m delighted that this group of dedicated artists have decided to continue their association with one another beyond their studies by forming Fankle. I have been impressed by their respectful coordination of group exhibitions both onsite and independently while at Middlesex University. Their unique balance of disciplines, materials and outlooks will serve them well. I very much look forward to experiencing Fankle 01 at the Coningsby Gallery.” 

See website for opening times and further information.

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Member of Fankle Art Collective

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Carolyn Murphy is a member of Fankle, a newly formed art collective of emerging artists from across the UK. Members work independently across multiple disciplines and come together to exhibit. A complex web of ideas and a shared love of creating unites their practices. The name ‘Fankle’ is Scottish in origin. It means entanglement, like threads where the beginnings and ends are uncertain.

Fankle logo designed by Moritz Nicolai

Fankle will hold its first exhibition ‘Fankle 01’ at Coningsby Gallery in Central London in July 2023. This marks an exciting step for the new collective. Artists will show recently produced contemporary work, across painting, sculpture, printmaking, video and installation.

All members of the group have connections to Middlesex University, as former or current students on the MA Fine Art and MA Printmaking programmes. Their threads stretch far beyond London – to Manchester, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Berlin, Munich, Baghdad, Tehran and Mexico City.

Fankle art collective members are Wallis Asher, Maryam Abdollahi, Natalie Dee, Phil Dunn, Angela Forrester, Freddy McBride, Carolyn Murphy, Moritz Nicolai, Iliana Ortega-Alcázar, Jan Pimblett, Hanan Tawfiq and Kathy Rooney.

Katherine Jones RA commented “I’m delighted that this group of dedicated artists have decided to continue their association with one another beyond their studies by forming Fankle. I very much look forward to experiencing Fankle 01 at the Coningsby Gallery.” 

Full details of the exhibition can be found here. Please follow Fankle via our Instagram page.

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‘What If?’ exhibition opens

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‘What If? exhibition opens at Filet gallery with work by Carolyn Murphy and fellow MA Fine Art and Fine Art Printmaking students from Middlesex University. They will exhibit new and experimental work at Filet gallery, Hoxton.  

Poster design by artist Melisa Novotna

The exhibition draws on themes of reinvention, exploration and contemplation. As the group’s first show of 2023, it provides a collective opportunity to share new work and test new ideas in a public exhibition project space, dedicated to contemporary art. ‘What If?’ reflects on the creative process and outcomes – with work that contemplates identity, fragility and memory. 

Artist and printmaker Carolyn Murphy presents a video piece for the first time, called ‘Revisiting New Quay’. Her monotypes and collagraphs feature in the video installation and alongside it – reflecting on loss and our connections to place.

‘What If?’ suggests future possibility, a welcomed change, an echo of personal or collective regret, perhaps a missed opportunity?  The show includes artworks in diverse media – including painting, sculpture, printmaking, video and installation.  The exhibition runs from Friday 24 March until Monday 27 March 2023.

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Showing at Bankside Gallery

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Carolyn Murphy is showing work at Bankside Gallery in London as part the Printmakers Council’s exhibition, ‘Thinking for Printing‘. A year earlier, members received an A5 sketchbook and were invited to capture, record and respond to the concept of Thinking for Printing, for a future exhibition. As part of this exciting project, the Printmakers Council selected finished artworks to display alongside the sketchbooks, in order to give a fantastic insight into artists’ ways of working. The sketchbooks were a chance to peek inside each artists’ mind to understand more about their processes and development of ideas.

Detail from ‘Spaces we share’

Carolyn explored dry stone walling primarily in her sketchbook. She recorded experiments to add embossing to etchings and tested colours. She captured examples of rubs, which emphasised depth in the print. Her messy sketchbook sat alongside ‘Spaces we share’, an etching with embellishment, on this prestigious wall.

Works on display in Bankside Gallery
Carolyn’s sketchbook – dry stone wall study

The exhibition opens on Tuesday 31 January 2023 and runs until Sunday 5 February.

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‘Up In The Air’ exhibition at Middlesex University

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At their ‘Up In The Air’ exhibition, Middlesex University MA Fine Art and Fine Art Printmaking students, including Carolyn Murphy, will show exciting new work this December.

For many students this is the culmination of their postgraduate studies. It’s their final show, bringing together work they have developed in 2022 and through the pandemic years. These emerging artists will exhibit together at The Barn, an exhibition space on the Middlesex University campus in Hendon, North London.

Work by Moritz Nicolai

The exhibition draws on themes of transition and new beginnings. At the close of 2022, it provides a collective opportunity to reflect on hopes and change. ‘Up In The Air’ launches ten new emerging artists in midwinter and on the cusp of 2023. The work contemplates identity, fragility and memory. The show includes artworks in diverse media, from painting and sculpture, to printmaking, video and installation.

‘A world we share?’, etching by Carolyn Murphy
Work by Iliana Ortega-Alcazar

‘Up In The Air’ opens on Thursday 8 December and runs until Tuesday 13 December. Everyone is very welcome to this contemporary art showcase, celebrating a point in time and space. At the private view, on 8 December 6pm, you can meet the artists and talk to them about their practice. The show includes work by:

• Maryam Abdollahi 

• Wallis Asher* 

• Natalie Dee 

• Philip Dunn 

• Angela Forrester 

• Freddy McBride 

• Carolyn Murphy* 

• Moritz Nicolai 

• Iliana Ortega-Alcazar* 

• Jan Pimblett 

• Hanan Tawfiq 

• Kathy Rooney 

• Luke Anthony Rooney

*continuing students

Work by Angela Forrester (on walls) and Carolyn Murphy (on floor)

“For Fine Art staff and students at Middlesex University, public exhibition is at the core of art practice. This show provides a snapshot of the diverse and dynamic range of practices currently being explored by the emerging contemporary artists undertaking postgraduate study on Middlesex University Fine Art programmes” said John Timberlake, Programme Leader for MA Fine Art and MA Fine Art Printmaking.

OPEN: 11.00 – 17.00, 8 – 13 December 2022 inclusive

The Barn, Middlesex University, Hendon Campus, London NW4 4BT

Nearest underground station: Hendon Central (15 mins walk).

Parking: Greyhound Hill car park (NW4 4JT). 

Entrance to the Barn: from Greyhound Hill, Hendon

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‘Surface and Depth’ in Norwich

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Artist and printmaker Carolyn Murphy will be exhibiting in the Printmakers’ Council exhibition ‘Surface and Depth’, in Norwich. The Printmakers Council promotes the use of both traditional and innovative printmaking techniques. For this exhibition members submitted artworks under the theme of surface and depth for selection. The show was hosted by Mandell’s Gallery in Norwich and curating.

‘Fracture 2’, an original collagraph by Carolyn Murphy, was selected for the show. It is inspired by Winter Hill in Lancashire, a moorland landscape damaged by wild fire in recent years. Carolyn attended the exhibition preview and had the chance to explore the inspiring work on show.

The exhibition opens on Sunday 29 October and runs until 19 November at Mandell’s Gallery, Elm Hill, Norwich NR3 1HN.

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‘Verdant’ exhibition opens in Mile End

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The Middlesex University MA ‘Verdant’ exhibition opens at Mile End Art Pavilion from Friday 8 July to Wednesday 13 July, from 11am to 6pm. Artist and Printmaker Carolyn Murphy has 5 pieces of work on show, with fellow MA Fine Art and MA Fine Art Printmaking students.

Carolyn Murphy at the private view
‘A shift in the direction of the wind’, monotype by Carolyn Murphy
‘See how easily they fall away’, monotype by Carolyn Murphy

Carolyn created work specifically for the Art Pavilion space, to make the most of the light, the scale and the lakeside setting. Her monotype ‘Reclaiming’ is 2.4m high and has 4 panels. Other work was created for the floor: ‘No stone unturned’, consisting of ‘rocks’, which Carolyn cut and folded from paper she hand-printed, using a monotype technique.

‘No stone unturned’ by Carolyn Murphy

The ‘Verdant’ exhibition also includes work by Middlesex University MA Graphic Design, Photography and Illustration students, as well as postgraduate research students. It’s free and in a lovely spot in the park, just 5 minutes from Mile End underground station.

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(re)FLEX exhibition

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Carolyn Murphy will be part of the (re)FLEX exhibition, with other Middlesex University MA Fine Art and Fine Art Printmaking students, this Easter. It’s the first time this group of emerging artists has exhibited together. The group will show new and experimental work at Filet gallery, in Hoxton, London.

The exhibition opens on Thursday 14 April 2022. Everyone is welcome to come and celebrate this contemporary and playful new show with artists at different stages of their practice.

(re)FLEX exhibition at Filet

“For Fine Art staff and students at Middlesex University, public exhibition is an essential part of art practice, and this exciting show is an engaging snapshot of the diverse and dynamic range of practices currently being explored by the emerging contemporary artists undertaking postgraduate study on the Middlesex Fine Art programmes”, said John Timberlake, Programme Leader for MA Fine Art and MA Fine Art Printmaking.

Carolyn will be showing two new pieces of work – both monotypes, inspired by the poet Imtiaz Dharker’s poem ‘Tissue’.

(re)FLEX is open 11.00 until 17.00 from 14 April to 19 April 2022 (inclusive) at Filet, 103 Murray Grove, Hoxton, London N1 7QP.

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Postcard for Twitter Art Exhibit 2022

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Carolyn Murphy is donating a postcard-sized original artwork to this year’s Twitter Art Exhibit in York. A regular contributor to TAE, Carolyn created an etching for the 2022 charity art sale. ‘Staying local’ is hand-coloured with watercolours and it’s based on a sketch she made during the lockdowns last year. The work shows a scene on her doorstep and holds onto the small patches of nature in the urban environment.

‘Staying local’, an original etching by Carolyn Murphy

‘Staying local’ and over a thousand other artworks will go on sale at the charity art sale on Saturday 25 June, and online, in aid of the Encephalitis Society. To find out more about Twitter Art Exhibit, check out them out on Twitter @twitartexhibit or via the Twitter Art Exhibit website. This year, Carolyn has contributed blog posts as one of the volunteer official Twitter Art Exhibit bloggers. You can see posts from Carolyn and others here.