In Memoriam | William Murray

WILLIAM MURRAY

IN MEMORIAM

May 3 - May 24, 2025

WILLIAM MURRAY

"I have always enjoyed looking at the various things that make my subject matter interesting to me. The contrast of light and shadow, the subtle changes of color, and the intimacy of a painting. The search for images is as rewarding to me as the results of that examination.

"I am driven by the entire process of making art and it is indeed that process that I love so much. To me, art is both pain and pleasure. The pain is the time and hard work that art demands from the artist. The pleasure is the fact that I create the magic that art has always been to me. I would choose no other way."

William Murray was born in St. Paul, Minnesota. He graduated from Minneapolis College of Art and Design and earned his MFAfrom the University of Minnesota. Murray began teaching art at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Stillwater in the 1970s, creating such a successful program that other institutions around the country began modeling his methods. Prior to founding that program, Murray served in the Coast Guard on the Great Lakes and trapped lobster in Nova Scotia, having sailed for four years on Lakes Michigan and Superior on an ice breaker and a search and rescue vessel.

Murray began exhibiting with St Paul gallerist Suzanne Kohn in 1974. Kohn hosted an exhibition of Murray's work while he was still enrolled at MCAD, and continued to exhibit his work through the late 1980s. In 1997, Sally Johnson welcomed Murray to Groveland Gallery, where he continued to exhibit until his death in November, 2024.

In Memoriam features paintings depicting Northern Minnesota and the northern Great Lakes. The BWCAregion in particular inspired Murray for many years, as he dedicated himself to capturing the area in watercolor. Murray understated the stunning nature of the views, choosing storm clouds and nightfall over sunny, shimmering lakes.Through his sublime recounting of the shape of the landscape and weight of the weather, Murray’s work speaks to a spaciousness which belies the small scale of the paintings.

In recent years Murray's pace had slowed, but a 2024 group exhibition of work from the BWCArenewed his daily painting practice. Bill and I had been planning this exhibition of new watercolors to open in November, 2024. I'm honored to bring his show to you now.

Andrea Bubula Director

May 2025