Andrea Murray

My paintings grow out of close looking—returning again and again to ordinary moments to investigate the life within them, and to make something interior visible. I’m drawn to figures at rest, tables set with familiar objects, and rooms or gardens where little appears to be happening. These are not dramatic scenes, but they are emotionally active ones. The work becomes a practice of attention: noticing how color, posture, surface, and proximity carry meaning.

Color is the heartbeat of my practice. Through saturated, intense palettes, I explore warmth, discomfort, care, and other things that are felt more than seen. I’m interested in surfaces and the quiet relationships between them—the way objects, bodies, and spaces hold and reflect one another.

As a museum educator and curator, I champion slow looking. In my painting, that commitment becomes a way of engaging the layered, shifting life that surrounds us every day.

Resumé

Education

BAE, Art Education University of New Mexico

Artistic Training

School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA Studio-based painting and visual studies

Art Students League of New York, New York, NY Painting studio intensives

Tompkins Cortland Community College, NY Photography studies with Harry Littell

Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY Painting coursework with Paul Wackers

New York Studio School, New York, NY Painting Marathon with Sam Levy, Kaitlin McDonough, and Clintel Steed

Private & Local Study, Ithaca, NY William Benson, Camille Doucette, Margie Martin, Vince Joseph

Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Snowmass Village, CO Upcoming Intensive: The Silent Narrator

Professional Experience

Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University — Ithaca, NY Lead Educator & Curriculum Development Specialist | 2013–Present

Lead curriculum and program development for K–12, university, and adult audiences

Facilitate gallery-based learning emphasizing close looking and dialogue

Develop and teach studio courses

Curate and develop exhibitions focused on critical inquiry

Collaborate with curators, faculty, and community partners

Mentor educators, interns, and post-baccalaureate participants

Maintain an active studio practice; recently reduced hours to focus on painting

Leadership & Service

Trumansburg Conservatory of Fine Art, Trumansburg, NY Board of Directors 2011-present

Long-term service supporting community access to fine art education

Contributions to governance, program development, and organizational continuity

Artistic Practice

Painting (oil and acrylic), clay work, sculpture

Figurative work and still life

Color-driven, process-oriented studio practice

Exhibitions

Early exhibitions in New Mexico and Seattle Recently work shown at TCFA, Petrune Gallery and upcoming CAP Artspace

Related Experience & Skills

Extensive experience teaching and facilitating visual art engagement

Knowledge of historical and contemporary painting practices

Experience in museum, nonprofit, and cooperative art environments

Professional Interests

Long-term studio practice

Arts education and community engagement

Artist-led and cooperative exhibition models

Integration of making, teaching, and looking

Contact


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