WHAT: Haley Gallery presents Curious Circumstances, an exhibition showcasing the works of visual artist Marilyn Murphy. The exhibit, which is free and open to the public, will feature over 20 letterpress prints and large drawings by Murphy.

Raised on the Great Plains and now living in New Zealand, Murphy incorporates the effects of the wind and the shape and movement of clouds into her art. She often addresses issues of women’s identity and roles, creating curious situations that imply a larger story. Her drawings typically include one or two figures involved in an improbable action or a curious task, with many of her current pieces focusing on the act of seeing, the creative process or aspects of the human experience.

WHEN: On Wednesday, Jan. 24, the gallery will host a reception with Murphy to celebrate the exhibit’s opening. The reception, which will take place between 5 and 9 p.m., is free and open to the public. The exhibit will be open until March 22.

WHERE: Haley Gallery, 224 Rep. John Lewis Way S., Nashville

About the artist

Originally from Tulsa, Oklahoma, Marilyn Murphy is an artist and a professor emerita of art at Vanderbilt University, where she taught before moving to New Zealand. Murphy’s work has been shown in over 390 exhibits nationally and abroad, including mid-career surveys at the Frist Art Museum and a two-person exhibit at the Huntsville Museum of Art. Her art has also been featured in solo shows at the Morris Museum of Art in Augusta, Ga.; the Customs House Museum in Clarksville, Tenn.; and at the Vanderbilt University Fine Arts Gallery in Nashville. Murphy’s work is inspired by the writings of the philosopher Gaston Bachelard, film noir and the sense of optimism in magazines from the 1940s and early 1950s.

All work on view in Haley Gallery is available for purchase. Prices and details are available upon request.

Click here for more information on this exhibit and Haley Galley.