BRETT MURRAY | Brood
BRETT MURRAY, Witness
Carrara marble, 40 x 20 x 21.2 cm (15 5/8 x 7 3/4 x 8 1/4 in.)
For some of Murray’s silent animal avatars, crafted in bronze or marble, the world seems to weigh heavily as they gaze heavenwards with trepidation and in a search for answers. Others are brooding and subdued. Huddled together or clinging to one another, many of the sculptures convey a poignant tenderness and vulnerability. These symbols of the family unit - together, touching, protected, and protecting - strike a universal chord.
BRETT MURRAY, Protect
Carrara marble, 40 x 25.3 x 27.6 cm (15 5/8 x 10 x 10 3/4 in.)
Huddled together or clinging to one another, many of Murray’s sculptures convey a poignant tenderness and vulnerability. These symbols of the family unit - together, touching, protected, and protecting - strike a universal chord. While some works evoke pathos, others stoke unease and allude to an inherent violence. The hopeful is countered with gaping holes that speak to the loss and hurt that are an integral part of all human experience.
BRETT MURRAY, Boiled Frog
French red marble, 32 x 33 x 27 cm (12 1/2 x 13 x 10 5/8 in.)
This body of work traces its origins to the start of this decade and the artist’s experience of the global pandemic. It marks what writer, Noah Swinney, describes as “an idiomatic shift in Murray’s work from polemics to elegy; a transition from what the artist has called, an accusatory position to one that is more compassionate and empathetic.”
BRETT MURRAY, Hope
Bardiglio and Carrara marble, 55 x 47.5 x 42.4 cm (21 5/8 x 18 5/8 x 16 5/8 in.)
In a world mired in conflict, uncertainty and political tumult, Murray continues to reflect and express our collective need to seek solace and safety and find sanctuary in the humans to whom we are closest. “These works are not argumentative, they’re meditative,” observed art critic Graham Wood. “They’re not subversive, they’re introspective. They’re not about intellect, they’re about emotion. They’re not about politics, they’re about relationships.”
BRETT MURRAY, Loom
Bronze, 55 x 25 x 32 cm (21 5/8 x 9 3/4 x 12 1/2 in.)
For some of Murray’s silent animal avatars, crafted in bronze or marble, the world seems to weigh heavily as they gaze heavenwards with trepidation and in a search for answers. Others are brooding and subdued. Huddled together or clinging to one another, many of the sculptures convey a poignant tenderness and vulnerability. These symbols of the family unit - together, touching, protected, and protecting - strike a universal chord.
BRETT MURRAY, Heed
Bronze, 45 x 21 x 22 cm (17 5/8 x 8 1/4 x 8 5/8 in.)
Huddled together or clinging to one another, many of Murray’s sculptures convey a poignant tenderness and vulnerability. These symbols of the family unit - together, touching, protected, and protecting - strike a universal chord. While some works evoke pathos, others stoke unease and allude to an inherent violence. The hopeful is countered with gaping holes that speak to the loss and hurt that are an integral part of all human experience.
BRETT MURRAY, Father
Bronze, 45 x 27 x 31 cm (17 5/8 x 10 5/8 x 12 1/8 in.)
For some of Murray’s silent animal avatars, crafted in bronze or marble, the world seems to weigh heavily as they gaze heavenwards with trepidation and in a search for answers. Others are brooding and subdued. Huddled together or clinging to one another, many of the sculptures convey a poignant tenderness and vulnerability. These symbols of the family unit - together, touching, protected, and protecting - strike a universal chord.
BRETT MURRAY, Son
Bronze, 34 x 18.7 x 24.8 cm (13 3/8 x 7 3/8 x 9 3/4 in.)
In a world mired in conflict, uncertainty and political tumult, Murray continues to reflect and express our collective need to seek solace and safety and find sanctuary in the humans to whom we are closest.
BRETT MURRAY, Witnesses
Bronze, 40 x 27 x 50 cm (15 5/8 x 10 5/8 x 19 5/8 in.)
Huddled together or clinging to one another, many of Murray’s sculptures convey a poignant tenderness and vulnerability. These symbols of the family unit - together, touching, protected, and protecting - strike a universal chord. While some works evoke pathos, others stoke unease and allude to an inherent violence. The hopeful is countered with gaping holes that speak to the loss and hurt that are an integral part of all human experience.
BRETT MURRAY, Effigy
Bronze, 23 x 21.5 x 22 cm (9 x 8 3/8 x 8 5/8 in.)
This body of work traces its origins to the start of this decade and the artist’s experience of the global pandemic. It marks what writer, Noah Swinney, describes as “an idiomatic shift in Murray’s work from polemics to elegy; a transition from what the artist has called, an accusatory position to one that is more compassionate and empathetic.”
BRETT MURRAY, Comfort
Bronze, 38 x 70 x 62 cm (15 x 27 1/2 x 24 3/8 in.)
In a world mired in conflict, uncertainty and political tumult, Murray continues to reflect and express our collective need to seek solace and safety and find sanctuary in the humans to whom we are closest. “These works are not argumentative, they’re meditative,” observed art critic Graham Wood. “They’re not subversive, they’re introspective. They’re not about intellect, they’re about emotion. They’re not about politics, they’re about relationships.”
BRETT MURRAY, The Great Unknown
Bronze, 35 x 25 x 27 cm (13 3/4 x 9 3/4 x 10 5/8 in.)
While some works evoke pathos, others stoke unease and allude to an inherent violence. The hopeful is countered with gaping holes that speak of the loss and damage that are an integral part of all human experience.
BRETT MURRAY, One Day
Marble and gold leaf, 56 x 110 x 4 cm (22 x 43 1/4 x 1 1/2 in.)
This body of work traces its origins to the start of this decade and the artist’s experience of the global pandemic. It marks what writer, Noah Swinney, describes as “an idiomatic shift in Murray’s work from polemics to elegy; a transition from what the artist has called, an accusatory position to one that is more compassionate and empathetic.”
BRETT MURRAY, Death of Innocence
Bronze, 30 x 21 x 25 cm (11 3/4 x 8 1/4 x 9 3/4 in.)
While some works evoke pathos, others stoke unease and allude to an inherent violence. The hopeful is countered with gaping holes that speak of the loss and damage that are an integral part of all human experience.
BRETT MURRAY, Innocence
Bronze, 30 x 21 x 25 cm (11 3/4 x 8 1/4 x 9 3/4 in.)
While some works evoke pathos, others stoke unease and allude to an inherent violence. The hopeful is countered with gaping holes that speak of the loss and damage that are an integral part of all human experience.
BRETT MURRAY, Monument to a Genocide
Carrara marble, 12 x 20 x 21 cm (4 5/8 x 7 3/4 x 8 1/4 in.)
While some works evoke pathos, others stoke unease and allude to an inherent violence. The hopeful is countered with gaping holes that speak of the loss and damage that are an integral part of all human experience.
BRETT MURRAY, Peace
Bronze, 20 x 20 x 17 cm (7 3/4 x 7 3/4 x 6 5/8 in.)
In reflecting on what is unfolding, I hope to articulate a very personal understanding and an idiosyncratic psychological sense of place, and begin to describe who I am with this anomalous vision. Paradoxically, through this critique and comic exposure, I actually begin to define a preferred ideal in which I would like to live. - Brett Murray
BRETT MURRAY, Love in the Time of War I
Bronze, 35 x 17 x 16.5 cm (13 3/4 x 6 5/8 x 6 3/8 in.)
In a world mired in conflict, uncertainty and political tumult, Murray continues to reflect and express our collective need to seek solace and safety and find sanctuary in the humans to whom we are closest. “These works are not argumentative, they’re meditative,” observed art critic Graham Wood. “They’re not subversive, they’re introspective. They’re not about intellect, they’re about emotion. They’re not about politics, they’re about relationships.”
Specialists in contemporary art from South Africa. Established in 1913. South African artists are part of the global conversation. We seek to make their voices heard.