Ben Murray: In Life Review

Ben Murray In Life Review February 10 – April 1, 2017

This catalogue was published on the occasion of Ben Murray’s second solo exhibition at moniquemeloche in spring of 2017.

© 2017

Installation views

"Yet Muybridge, in some of his earliest landscape work, seems positively to seek, of all things, waterfalls; long exposures of which produce images of a strange, ghostly substance that is in fact the tesseract of water: what is to be seen is not the water itself, but the virtual volume it occupies during the whole time-interval of the exposure.�

- Hollis Frampton, "Eadweard Muybridge: Fragments of a Tesseract.", 1972

A “life review� is a phenomenon widely reported as occurring during neardeath experiences, in which a person rapidly sees much or the totality of their life history in chronological sequence and in extreme detail. For his second solo show at moniquemeloche, Ben Murray continues his investigation into the aesthetics of memory with new paintings that explore this mortal notion using a cinematic lens, as if life itself were a screenplay to be viewed before the final frame.

Multi-layered, representational paintings of recollected places and events, the works on view comprise the moments that shape a lifetime, mundane or otherwise.

Void of characters or dialogue, these compositions are constructed in a durational framework, simultaneously conveying the multiple frames of lived experience in reverse. Images move, appear, dissolve and become filters for one another; light is shifting and transitional; time is elongated, compressed and out of control. Here, Murray performs the role of the projectionist, transforming all semblances of the everyday into mere apparitions on the painterly screen.

$8,500.00

TRACKING SHOT - TUNNEL (Racing), 2017 Acrylic and ink on canvas 72 x 60 in. (182.9 x 152.4 cm)

INT. STEPS (Rise Above), 2017 Acrylic and ink on canvas 84 x 78 in. (213.4 x 198.1 cm)

The liminal space between life and death is stressed through each of the artist’s subjects; a tunnel or staircase is representative of a transition between planes, a closed door that is indicative of the ending of one chapter and the start of the next, and so forth. The images are simplified, echoing the architecture that surround them, acting as a bridge between a world that exists between the continually present and the rapidly fleeting. Further emphasizing these dualities are the titles themselves, pulled from standard screenwriting terminology. Interior and exterior scenes are fused, as is the night and day. These references to film sequencing allow for the viewer to formulate a narrative that has a beginning and end.

CLOSE – DOOR, 2017 Acrylic and ink on canvas 72 x 60 in. (182.9 x 152.4 cm)

EXT/INT. DRIVING - ROOM - NIGHT, 2015-16 Oil on canvas 78 x 84 in. (198.1 x 213.4 cm)

INT/EXT. BEDROOM – LAKE – DAY/DUSK (Spinning), 2016-17 Oil and acrylic on canvas 78 x 90 in. (198.1 x 228.6 cm)

Despite incorporating movie industry principles, Murray’s paintings draw inspiration from the works of more experimental filmmakers like Stan Brakhage and Michael Snow, the latter of which Murray pays homage to with his triptych, LONG SHOT – HALLWAY (Wavelength). Snow’s 1967 arthouse film, Wavelength, consists of a week’s worth of composited footage, resulting in a 45-minute-long zoom that moves past an unnamed man’s death and ends on a hung photograph of a body of water and loses focus. The late Brakhage’s work is perhaps more in kind to Murray’s compositions, as his layering of imagery is comparable to the filmmaker’s own painterly process of directly adding to and breaking down film emulsion, as well as his use of double exposures, resulting in abstract scenes that explore notions of birth and mortality. Even Brakhage’s sometimes conjectural titles draw similarities to Murray’s, such as Window Water Baby Moving (1959) and Prelude: Dog Star Man (1962).

INT/EXT. LANDSCAPE - DAY (Retinal Burn), 2017 Acrylic and ink on canvas 54 x 80 in. (137.2 x 203.2 cm)

Each of Murray’s paintings depicts a moment of isolation and quiet contemplation; the consistent vantage point is that of the viewer or of the artist himself. As there are no other individuals in the scenes, the artist emphasizes the universality of these moments, the objects familiar despite the complexity of the layered imagery. This lack of figuration conveys the multitude of emotions one may feel when they stand at the precipice of life and death, be they lonely and dejected or peaceful and accepting. Whatever the case, the viewer is left to consider their own temporality and what lies beyond this earthly plane.

LONG SHOT – HALLWAY (Wavelength), 2017 Oil, acrylic, spray paint and ink on canvas Triptych: 32 x 88 inches overall, 32 x 28 inches each

Ben Murray (b. 1977, Merrillville, IN; lives and works Chicago) received his MFA from the University of Illinois, Chicago in 2013 and his BFA from the Herron School of Art, Indianapolis in 2011. He was a 2014 Artist in Residence at the Bemis Center for Contemporary Art in Omaha, Nebraska and a 2012 MFA Resident at Ox-Bow in Saugatuck, Michigan. After this MFA thesis show at UIC in 2013, Murray was in the group exhibitions Recent Paintings at Northwestern University, Kaplan A.I.R Exhibitions, curated by John Neff and Revisiting Undomesticated at Design Cloud, Chicago. In 2014, Murray had his first solo show at moniquemeloche, followed by the important group exhibition Ground Floor at Hyde Park Art Center—a juried exhibition of the best recent MFA graduates from Chicago’s top art schools. In 2015, moniquemeloche presented his work at The Armory Show, New York. Recent group exhibitions include New American Paintings: Midwest Edition at Elmhurst Art Museum and #BemisPainters: 1985-2015 at Bemis Center for Contemporary Art, both 2015. Murray is currently Adjunct Assistant Professor at Illinois State University, Normal, IL.

BEN MURRAY American, born 1977 Merrillville, IN, lives Chicago, IL Education 2013 MFA University of Illinois at Chicago, IL 2011 BFA Herron School of Art and Design, Indianapolis, IN 2003 Pont-Aven School of Contemporary Art, Brittany, France 2000 AA American Academy of Art, Chicago, IL Solo Exhibitions 2017 In Life Review, moniquemeloche, Chicago, IL 2014 Centerville, moniquemeloche, Chicago, IL 2006 A Moot Documentary, Flux Space, Indianapolis, IN Group Exhibitions 2016 Not Just Another Pretty Face, Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, IL 2015 #BemisPainters: 1985-2015, Bemis Center for Contemporary Art, Omaha, NE New American Paintings: Midwest Edition, Elmhurst Art Museum, Elmhurst, IL 2014 Ground Floor, Chicago emerging artists biennial, Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, IL 2013 Recent Paintings, Kaplan A.I.R. Exhibitions, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, Curated by John Neff Revisiting Undomesticated, Design Cloud, Chicago, IL A strange house in my voice, MFA Thesis Exhibition, Gallery 400, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL Winter Group Exhibition: No-Show, West Pilsen Sculpture Garden, Chicago, IL 2012 MDW Fair, UIC MFA Booth, Chicago, IL 2010 Bootleg Vol. 2, Bootleg Gallery, Indianapolis, IN Friends of Chautauqua, Arizona State University Gallery, Phoenix, AZ 2009 Bootleg Vol. 1, Bootleg Gallery, Indianapolis, IN 2007 Flux Closing, Flux Space, Indianapolis, IN 2006 Interchange (Collaborative Project Show), Indianapolis, IN Surface Communication, Madison Gallery, Indianapolis, IN Resurgence, Madison Gallery, Indianapolis, IN Is, Was, Will Be, Mona Bismarck Foundation, Paris, FR Is, Was, Will Be, Espace Melanie, Riec-sur-Belon, FR Residencies, Fellowships, Grants and Awards 2014 Artist in Residence - Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, Omaha, NE 2012 MFA Artist in Residence, Ox-Bow, Saugatuck, MI 2012 Dedalus Award Nominee, University of Illinois at Chicago, IL 2012 Dean’s Scholar Nominee, University of Illinois at Chicago, IL 2011 Board of Trustees Waiver, University of Illinois at Chicago, IL 2004 Best of Show - Senior Exhibition, Herron School of Art 2003 Rev. A. G. Fraser International Travel Award, Herron School of Art 2002 Joseph Vansickle Scholarship, Herron School of Art Selected Bibliography 2015 “Ten reasons to get excited about the winter art season”, The Chicago Tribune, January 2

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Selected Bibliography continued 2014 “Review: Ben Murray @ Monique Meloche”, Newcity, May 15.

New American Paintings, No. 113 Midwestern Issue, curated by Staci Boris, Chief Curator, Elmhurst Art Museum, Elmhurst, IL 2013 "Ben Murray (Featured Artist)", MakeSpace.net, May. 2013 "Stories From the Inside - an Interview with MFA student Ben Murray", Gallery 400 blog, March.

2012 "Smallness and Sameness at Chicago’s MDW Fair", Art FCity,November.

2009 "George Benedict Murray III", Conduit Chicago, September.

2006 "A Moot Documentary", OntheCusp.org, February.

Related Employment 2016 Adjunct Assistant Professor, Illinois State University, Normal, IL 2016 Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL 2013Teacher Artist, Patrick Henry Elementary, George Washington High School, CAPE, Chicago, IL 2013 Adjunct Assistant Professor, Summer Bridge Program, University of Illinois at Chicago, IL 2012-13 Instructor of Record, Drawing I, the Beginning, University of Illinois at Chicago, IL 2012 Graduate Assistant (Studio/Sculpture Shop Technician Assistant & Art Education Assistant @Spiral Workshop) University of Illinois at Chicago, IL 2012 Teaching Assistant (Assistant Professor Dianna Frid), Topics in Drawing I & Advanced Topics in Drawing, University of Illinois at Chicago, IL 2011-12 Senior Preparator, Gallery 400, University of Illinois at Chicago, IL 2007-11 Preparator/ Storage Collections Assistant, Icon Group, Chicago, IL 2006–07 Freelance Preparator, New York, NY 2005, 07 Sol LeWitt Wall Painting Draftsman, Indianapolis, IN, New York, NY 2005 Teacher Artist, VSA Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN 2004-05 Instructor / Coordinator, Herron School of Art (Saturday School/Honors Art), Indianapolis, IN

moniquemeloche was founded in October 2000 with an inaugural exhibition titled Homewrecker at Meloche’s home, and officially opened to the public in May 2001.

Working with an international group of emerging artists in all media, the gallery presents conceptually challenging installations in Chicago and at art fairs internationally with an emphasis on curatorial and institutional outreach.