BRETT MURRAY | Wild Life at Norval Foundation
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, 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, 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, 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, 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, Citizen
Bronze, 63 x 58 x 46 cm
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.”
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.