Artist Michael Murphy Pays Homage to 20th-Century Architecture in His ‘Modernism’ Series

The Editors

 

Michael Murphy, the son of a contractor who studied at the College of San Mateo before attending the University of New Mexico, where he earned his architectural degree, starts by sketching structures in pencil.

 

The sketches eventually become drawings that evolve into striking paintings with vibrant colors on either canvas or heavy illustration board, which helped land the artist’s work in the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

 

A recession and layoff from an architectural firm led Murphy to make the jump from architecture to art. It started simply enough – a house in Presidio Heights caught his eye, and he created a rough drawing that eventually led to a series of drawings he posted on Facebook, which received rave reviews.

 

Eventually, Murphy started selling his art at local retailers and galleries. By 2010, Murphy stopped looking for employment as an architect and concentrated on his art, working out of a studio in his home that he shares with his architect wife.

 

His “Forgotten Modernism” series -- currently featured at Gallery 30 South -- which is an ongoing catalog of modern architecture, focuses not just on the masterpieces of 20th-century California, but also the middle-class dwellings that helped define the spirit of the West Coast.

 

For more information about Michael Murphy's exhibit, visit Gallery 30 South.

 

 

 

 

 

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All images courtesy of Gallery 30 South
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