SOLO EXHIBITION BY BLU MURPHY
April 23 – July 17, 2022
Exhibition Reception: Friday, May 13, 2022 7 – 10pm
LE DRIP: The Uncontainable Sauce of Black Essence is a solo exhibition by Washington, DC based artist Blu Murphy, Target Gallery’s 2022 solo exhibition recipient. The LE DRIP series is a group of mixed media portraits created as a tribute to the black community and celebrates the essence, beauty, and magic of this resilient and often undervalued group of people. The subject matters included in this series are elementary and middle school students who attend a title one school in southeast D. C., where the artist also teaches arts education. Through collage, the artist has carefully and strategically combined the statement “I Am Art” with graffiti and images that represent black narratives. The portraits in this series offer the viewer an opportunity to challenge their perspectives and see a subset of individuals who are often unseen or overlooked as valuable masterpieces.
The white industrial walls of Target Gallery are used as a backdrop to represent urban communities. Steeped in symbolism, upon entering the gallery, viewers will observe shoes hanging from a wire anchored in the ceiling. In urban communities, this symbolizes remembrance; we are honoring and remember community members who are no longer with us.
The series includes more than ten (10) works of art encased in vibrant colored up-cycled frames. Dripping paint “le drip” travels from the portrait to the frame and then onto the gallery wall representing the uncontainable and undeniable sauce of the black essence. The ingredients of “the sauce” are rich and include: our combined pain, triumphs, joys, strength, and swag.
This exhibition was created to challenge the viewer to think about the following questions:
What do you qualify as art?
What do you view as valuable?
These questions are explored further in a simple, black, and white video created by the artist that features people from her community either boldly making the statement “I Am Art” or expressing why they consider themselves art. She hopes that each viewer will leave with a heightened sense of self-love and a different perspective on what they qualify as art.
Brandy “Blu” Murphy (she/her), is a Washington, D. C. based artist is known for capturing the strength of her subjects through photography and utilizing graffiti, texture, and color to tell the story of disenfranchised African-Americans who are often unheard and unseen and showcasing them as works of art.
Blu Murphy, “Never A Leader… Always a Criminal”, 2022. Mixed Media Portrait: photography, spray paint, acrylic paint, acrylic markers, upcycled frame. Submit Price Offer to Gallery.
Blu Murphy, “Never Free … Always a Target”, 2022. Mixed Media Portrait: photography, spray paint, acrylic paint, acrylic markers, upcycled frame. Submit Price Offer to Gallery.
Blu Murphy, “Patience Locked in Abundance”, 2022. Mixed Media Portrait: photography, spray paint, acrylic paint, acrylic markers, upcycled frame. Submit Price Offer to Gallery.
Blu Murphy, “Hair Jewelry”, 2022. Mixed Media Portrait: photography, spray paint, acrylic paint, acrylic markers, upcycled frame. Submit Price Offer to Gallery.
Blu Murphy, Halos and Hoodies I, 2022. Mixed Media Portrait: photography, spray paint, acrylic paint, acrylic markers, upcycled frame. Submit Price Offer to Gallery.
Blu Murphy, Mama’s Hands, 2022. Mixed Media Portrait: photography, spray paint, acrylic paint, acrylic markers, upcycled frame. Submit Price Offer to Gallery.
Blu Murphy, Childhood Reflections, 2022. Mixed Media Portrait: photography, spray paint, acrylic paint, acrylic markers, upcycled frame. Submit Price Offer to Gallery.
Blu Murphy, Please Don’t Touch the Art, 2022. Mixed Media Portrait: photography, spray paint, acrylic paint, acrylic markers, upcycled frame. Submit Price Offer to Gallery.
SOLD
Blu Murphy, Wealth Gap, 2022. Mixed Media Portrait: photography, spray paint, acrylic paint, acrylic markers, upcycled frame. Submit Price Offer to Gallery.
Blu Murphy, I Am Art, 2022. Mixed Media Portrait: photography, spray paint, acrylic paint, acrylic markers, upcycled frame. Submit Price Offer to Gallery.
Blu Murphy, Free Lunch, 2022. Mixed Media Portrait: photography, spray paint, acrylic paint, acrylic markers, upcycled frame. Submit Price Offer to Gallery.
Blu Murphy, Halos and Hoodies II, 2022. Mixed Media Portrait: photography, spray paint, acrylic paint, acrylic markers, upcycled frame. Submit Price Offer to Gallery.
Blu Murphy, Prey, 2022. Mixed Media Portrait: photography, spray paint, acrylic paint, acrylic markers, Submit Price Offer to Gallery.
Blu Murphy, Royal Protest, 2022. Mixed Media Portrait: photography, spray paint, acrylic paint, acrylic markers, upcycled frame. Submit Price Offer to Gallery.
Blu Murphy, Dripin’ in Black Joy, 2022. Mixed Media Portrait: photography, spray paint, acrylic paint, acrylic markers, upcycled frame. Submit Price Offer to Gallery.
ABOUT THE JURORS
Maps Glover is an artist and innovator, from his installation and performances at some of the nation's premiere stages including the Kennedy Center. Maps' illustrations have also graced the covers of magazines like the fray, hello Mr, and condensate Traveler. His approach to art is unique meditative his practice invites the viewer to reimagine the world around them.
“When I first Saw Blu’s work I was immediately drawn to the relationship between the stunning graphic paintings that danced round photographs of young black girls, the images speak volumes highlighting the beauty of the characters. Blu’s approach to addressing the complex history, depicted through collage is subtle and clear. As the center figures are towering above that challenging history. Im moved by the work Blu is creating and look forward seeing how the Works will continue to break down barriers and shine light."
– Maps Glover
Heather Hakimzadeh is the Curator at the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA). Since her tenure at Virginia MOCA, she has organized over 50 exhibitions ranging from local to internationally recognized artists. Hakimzadeh’s recent exhibitions include She Says: Women, Words, and Power, Inka Essenhigh: A Fine Line, and Wayne White: Monitorium. She wrote essays for both Inka Essenhigh's monograph and the catalogue that accompanied the seminal group exhibition, Turn the Page: The First Ten Years of Hi-Fructose. She earned a B.S. from Carnegie Mellon University, a B.A. in Art History from Old Dominion University, and an M.A. in Art History from the George Washington University.
“The opportunity to exhibit work at the Torpedo Factory attracts many talented applicants. Each one had a strong visual presence and unique voice to share with their community. I am mindful of their vulnerability and generosity as they share their work. The artists who stood out in the jury process joined artistic mastery with informed intent. They are exploring the tender spots of the human condition that bear close looking.
Artist Blu Murphy shares these traits with the artists with whom she competed. She works with students who, according to the artist, come from communities that are not always valued as they should be. Beautiful young people who deserve attention and respect. As Murphy photographs them, the artist forces the viewer to see their beauty. Their intricate braids and hairstyles suggest crowns and pays loving homage to their culture. As the graffiti drips from the images to the walls, their presence also exceeds the frames that contain them. My congratulations to the artist in her selection for this exhibition.”
– Heather Hakimzadeh
Thomas James is a visual arts curator and arts facilitator based in Maryland. An appreciator and collector of fine arts, he highlights working artists and facilitates spaces for creatives to refine and develop their craft.
Beginning his career in the arts while in college at Frostburg State University, his first exhibition was at Mountain City Center for the Arts, where he was interning. Shortly after graduation, Thomas took an opportunity to independently curate an exhibition on display at the Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts in Annapolis, and it was eventually travelled to George Washington University’s ArtReach Gallery in Washington, DC.
Shortly after, Thomas went on to conduct a fellowship at The Maryland Federation of Art before joining the Baltimore anchor institution, Creative Alliance, in 2018 through 2021. He now leads the exhibition programming at Eubie Blake Cultural Center in Baltimore.
Thomas has curated exhibitions on display at The Phillips Collection, Anne Arundel Community College, Gallery Al-Quds, and Syra Arts.
In addition to curating, Thomas has served as a writer, designer, consultant, lecturer, and more for organizations and companies such as Vans, Kaiser Permante, B&O Railroad Museum, Munger, Tolles, & Olsen LLP, Urban Walls Brazil, Reginald F. Lewis Museum, and more.
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“Open calls are a special opportunity for artists to be viewed on an equal playing field. By assembling a diverse group of jurors, Target Gallery allows for an array of voices to be heard and amplified. The jury’s selection of Blu Murphy’s work to be awarded this year’s open call selection is a testament to the work that is being done by the gallery staff and Torpedo Factory organization as a whole. This decision was extremely difficult for us (the jury) to make and that speaks to the quality of work that was submitted to the panel for review. Murphy’s work stood out to us because of her multi-media approach to sharing her culture, the quality and consistency of her work, as well as her ideas to further push her concept with a site specific installation. Using photography, found frames, and elements of street art, her work stands out as a narrative full of complexities, joy, and nuance.”
– Thomas Jane
About Target Gallery
Target Gallery is the contemporary exhibition space of Torpedo Factory Art Center, managed by the City of Alexandria's Office of the Arts, a division of the Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities.