Julian Murphy is one of the few contemporary artists in the world who can truly claim to be originating a new form of expression. His style remains unique and instantly recognizable, even though his subjects and media have constantly evolved from his early creations. His canvases now include furniture, clothing and three-dimensional art as well as his beautiful hand drawn masterpieces.
He himself describes his work as "Tantric Pop Art"- a cunning combination of eroticism and visual innuendo that emphasizes the life-confirming sexuality of our surroundings: in Murphy’s mind, it has been man’s subconscious which has shaped the artifacts, buildings and furniture which make up our environment and everyday world. Sex is in the mind’s eye of the beholder.
His success is marking out new territory and he has won critical acclaim from all parts of the world. At the last count, over 500 newspapers and magazines in more than 20 countries have featured his work- an eclectic array curiously including, The Times and Sunday Times, New Statesman, as well as the Erotic Review, Playboy, Vogue, Elle, GQ and Design Week. Television coverage with more than 30 programs has extended from the USA to Japan and Australia, as well as most of Europe. His works have been hung in international exhibitions alongside those of Dali, Degas, Hockney, Haring and Warhol, there is even a piece hanging in the Moulin Rouge in Paris. Recently his six month exhibition at the Erotic Museum in Paris was extended to one year, simply because it proved one of the museums most successful events. This exhibition has since moved to Hamburg to celebrate ten years of the Erotic Museum there.
Despite the lightest of touches in his art, Murphy is deadly serious about the messages he wants to put across, believing that art has an important part to play in informing the debates on issues around consenting sexualities, drugs, HIV/Aids and rape, as well as the wide-ranging definitions of what comprises a relationship.
"I would like people to get much more in tune with their sexuality", he says, "because that can often be the first honest step in getting in touch with your self".
Julian with his prolific output of around 200 paintings in the last 8 years has plans for much more, developing his art into a whole lifestyle thing! Clothing to glassware, vacuum cleaners to house and garden furniture. Sex and style so rarely go hand in hand these days, Murphy is changing that point of view.
Clothespeg, 2001
Secateurs, 2000
