Meg Lionel Murphy
I paint a far, far away land where violence magically transforms femme bodies into a monstrous size so that their pain must be seen, felt, and reckoned with.
Far, Far Away
As a girl, all fairytales ended with a marriage. But as an adult, marriage was the most dangerous thing I ever did to myself. Picasso said women are either doormats or goddesses. My work plots the path of the doormat to the goddess.
The artwork wrestles between moments of horror, ecstasy, and escape. I want to bring the viewer to the lowest of lows and highest of highs, to mirror what it feels like with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder—something I struggle with daily after my experience with extreme domestic violence.
Exhibitions
Current
LOCATION:
The Museum Of Wisconsin Art’s satellite location in Saint Kate—The Arts Hotel in downtown Milwaukee
DATES:
January 19 - April 4, 2024
This exhibition explores the passage back and forth between pain and healing. The story starts at the Swan Song Motel. The first place a person might flee violence is to a motel. I have. Those borrowed rooms are gateways. They are portals to transformation, fantasy, disappearance, and denial. I try to paint the moment when leaving an old life behind is possible.
Past
Exhibitions
Manica Deprica
The paintings placed in the land of Manica Deprica depict dreamy and demented bedtime rituals with a medieval edge, menaced by tiny men and their demons. View selected works from this body of work, created in 2022.
Traumatica Dramatica
These paintings address emotional and physical violence against women throughout art history. The title serves as a spell—turning the viewer into giants and shrinking them back to size over and over again. View selected works from this body of work, created in 2021.
BIO
Meg Lionel Murphy works from rural Wisconsin, where she produces paintings for exhibition in galleries and museums throughout the US. Her recent solo shows include “Ecstasy & Escape at the Swan Song Motel” with the Musuem of Wisconsin Art (Milwaukee), “Traumatica Dramatica” at The Untitled Space Gallery (New York), “Interior Violence” at CoExhibitions Gallery (Minneapolis), and solo booths with SPRING/BREAK Art Show (New York and Los Angeles). Recent group shows include “10 @ 10” at The Wisconsin Museum of Art, “Pleasure Garden” at Laurie Shapiro Gallery (Los Angeles), and “In Her World” at Voltz Clark (New York). She is a recipient of Gener8tor Art grant and accelerator program. Her painting has been acquired by the Minnesota Museum of American Art. Murphy’s artwork has been featured in a variety of publications, including Hyperallergic, Artnet News, and Forbes.
