Ro Murray acknowledges the traditional custodians of the land on which she lives and work. She supports the Uluru Statement of the Heart.
Murray and Burgess will join David Helmers and Catherine Anselmi in the group show Threshold: The Other Space at ANCA Gallery Canberra 29 October - 16 November. Ro and Mandy in their installation SCOOP combine their previous work on the Regent Honeyeater with eighteen charcoal portraits of Australian women artist who have continued to work later in life in full flight.
Ro with a preliminary drawing of RG
Work in progress in the shed at Mount Victoria
Ro will open her house 2 Linda Street Killcare, as part of the Bouddi Peninsula Art Trail Saturday 4, Sunday 5 October from 9am-4pm, showing both older and recent works. The trail includes 27 artist on the peninsula.
Broken Banks (Blue), 2025 wood cut U/P
Broken Banks (Brown), 2025 wood cut U/P
SCROLLS IX, X have been selected finalist for Crescendo Artist Book Awards Clifton School of Arts from 14th to the 30th November, 338 Lawrence Hargrave Drive Clifton, NSW, 2515. These scrolls are part of the installation Brief Statement of Facts, Canberra Art Biennial 2024.
SCROLL X, SCROLL IX 2024, Lino print and hand written text on pianola rolls
SCROLL VI was selected for the Artist Book Awards at Manly Library in April this year, and acquired by NSW State Library. SCROLL VI has experts from the journal of William Hovell on the overland expedition by Hume and Hovell from Lake George/Weereewa in 1824-25. The Scroll is part of the installation Brief Statements of Facts for the Canberra Art Biennial 2024.
SCROLL VI 2024, lino print and hand written text on pianola roll
Against the Tide, 2025, Lino Print on Pianola Rolls
In the Paper Room at Sydney Contemporary Ro joined Tiliqua Tiliqua again this year. This diptych about the Parramatta River was purchased by a private collector.
Against the Tide, 2025, Lino Print on Pianola Rolls, (Detail)
On display in the Outside Sculpture Plinths at Gallery Lane Cove and Creative Studios. February to May 2025
The Architects Negative IV, V and Rosalie Meets Henri at the Fish Market II.
For more information
https://www.gallerylanecove.com.au/current-sculpture-plinth-glc
I considered my dead filed architectural plans as a midden, to use and
recycle. The title refers to Rosalie Gascoigne’s ordered collection of
found objects and Henri Matisse’s torn collages, here as a half dozen of
oysters. This work was the focus in the series of seven.
SCROLL VI has been selected finalist for the Northern Beaches 2025 Artist’s Book Award, Manly Library – Creative Library from 5- 27 April
Every two years the Northern Beaches Library Service holds an Artists’ Book Award attracting entries from around the world. Books are selected from the entries to form an exhibition. From the exhibited books, judges then select books to be acquired.
For more information
https://www.northernbeaches.nsw.gov.au/library/whats/adults-and-seniors/artists-book-award
SCROLL VI, is part of the series Brief Statement of Facts, with notes from William Hovell’s journal 1824-25, more
https://www.romurray.com.au/#/brief-statement-of-facts-2024/
ALTITUDE is an exhibition of selected works from artist members of Modern Art Projects Blue Mountains. The artists are inspired by the environments they live and work in ranging from Greater Western Sydney to Central Western NSW.
One Thousand Metre Contour (detail), 2025 Lino print on six pianola rolls
1st April to 24th April 2025, Fountain Court NSW Parliament House
6 Macquarie Street Sydney NSW. Opening Hours Monday to Friday 9am- 5pm.
Sponsored by Trish Doyle MP, Member for Blue Mountains, Parliamentary Secretary for Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Heritage.
Curated by: Miriam Williamson @modernartprojects | www.modernartprojects.org
One Thousand Metre Contour references topographic maps of Katoomba and Hampton locating our farm on the Coxs River in the Kanimbla Valley, in relationship to Medlow Bath and the escarpments of both at 1000m.
5 days at Sydney Contemporary at Carriage Works was exciting this year in the PAPER Room. Tiliqua Tiliqua also had the Melbourne printmaker Marco Lucio encouraging visibility of my Lino printed pianola roll Murrumbidgee and print Turpentine. At Tiliqua Studio I lease the etching press, and assisted by Dr Hashim Ali.
Also as part of Booth 14 were the studio directors Kate Riley and Felix Oppen, and the local artists Michelle Connolly, Katika Schultz, Fiona Ferguson and Brigitta Summers.
I’d like to thank the art and craft community at Killcare for being so welcoming and for encouraging me to be part of the Arts Trail this year. The organisation and support makes this a professional event across many disciplines and an important way for artists to share their work. Thanks for the wine, laughs and help in hanging works. Hope it is a fantastic event for artists and visitors.
Thank you to the sponsors:
Ray White Killcare
The Fat Goose Cafe Killcare
Finding a pianola in good working order is not an opportunity to be missed. Ro playing Rain Drops Keep Falling on my Head (tempo slightly slow) at Wildes Meadow.
A planned musical art event, will be performed at the Gertrude Abbott Aged Care in Surry Hills, Wednesday 2nd October.
Bouddi I, II, III (detail) 2023 Lino print on pianola roll
EVERY COLOUR group Show Articulate Project Space 497 Parramatta Rd Leichhardt 3- 25 August
Murrumbidgee (green) detail 2024, Lino print on pianola roll
PRINTMAKER SHOW ‘24 Tiliqua Tiliqua 257 Enmore Rd, Enmore, 15 Aug - 2 Sep
Molonglo, 2024, Lino print on paper 76x57cm
At Sydney Contemporary Carriageworks 5-8 September, I will be joining Tiliqua Tiliqua (where I print) in the Paper Room more
As part of Canberra Art Biennial this year between 28 September - 27 October, there will be two installations: My work “Brief Statement of Facts”, of eleven relief printed pianola rolls about the 1824 Hume and Hovell’s expedition from Lake George to Port Phillip, will be transferred to the glass facade of 16 Marcus Clarke Street.
And, continuing our work on the critically endangered Regent honeyeater, Murray and Burgess will exhibit our work JUST HOLDING OUT in the National Arboretum.
The World Is Changing Within My Lifetime, (detail) 2023, Lino print on pianola roll
Over the October long weekend, I will open my house at 2 Linda Street Killcare as part of the Bouddi Peninsula Art Trail 5-6 October to show my current relief prints amongst older works.
Instagram: @romurray
ARCHITECTURE AND BEYOND a group show at Willoughby Council Incinerator Art Space 29 May- 12 June, with fellow artists Mandy Burgess, Michelle Le Dain, Sarah Fitzgerald, Lisa Pang, Nicola McClelland, playfully exploring the legacy of Marion Mahony Griffin and Walter Burley Griffin.
Forest, 2021, Lino Print
Reflected in the Glass and Chevron Doors, 2021, Lino Print
Exhibition room sheet and Essay by Lisa Pang - read here.
Sadly many exhibitions were postponed last year due to Covid but it’s great to be able to exhibit again. I was pleased to have 3 works included in the North Sydney Art Prize on show at the historic Coal Loader Site at Ball’s Head.
The Earth is Changing (within my Lifetime), 2022, an installation of lino prints on pianola rolls.
Through the Tunnel 2022, plywood, steel, acrylic paint
And an installation by Murray and Burgess Once Was 2022, fallen timber, fabric, steel, acrylic paint
In the Company of Trees 2022, fallen timber, fabric, steel, acrylic paint.
An installation by Murray and Burgess at Inside Outside Sculpture Plinth at Ted Mack Civic Park North Sydney.
Also changes for Mandy Burgess and I. We are excited with the formalisation of our creative partnership based at Mt Victoria, with our new website and our new email address (murrayandburgess@murrayandburgess.com.au). Since meeting up again at NAS 2015, we have collaborated on many projects and group exhibitions, and been selected for many art prizes and staged three solo exhibitions.
Recently we were selected finalists for Sculpture at Sawmillers McMahons Point now rescheduled 18-27 February 2022 with our work MISE-EN-ABYME (YELLOW), which repeats our previous work in BLUE TOO shown at Kandos with MAPBM in FEB-April 2021. This work is a mini forest of dead trees echoing the more and more occurrence of natural disasters due to climate change.
Contour556, Canberra Biennial in October 2022. Our work FALLEN FOREST highlights the plight of endangered woodland birds, particularly the Regent honeyeater, whose near extinction is being caused by the catastrophic reduction of its habitat by drought, land clearing and flooding.
Concept drawing Fallen Forest
We are also thrilled to be selected for The Blue Mountains Cultural Centre Expose Program, which gives exhibition opportunities to emerging and mid-career local artists. We will exhibit CALL AND RESPONSE: A SEARCH FOR BIRDSONG IN THE FALLEN FOREST 1 December 2022-29 January 2023.
This exhibition is a development of the Contour556 work exploring new professional terrain: forming links with conservation groups and applying for a grant to collaborate with a local composer and musicians. Our intention with this eco-arts project is direct attention for collaborator organisations: Blue Mountains World Heritage Institute, Birdlife Australia, Taronga Zoo, and their programs supporting the survival of the critically endangered regent honeyeater.
Murray and Burgess, Call and Response (excerpt) score drawing
These times of COVID and isolation have meant adaption. Plans are made, remade, cancelled, meetings and seeing online. My group exhibition Architecture and Beyond, about the architectural couple Marion Mahoney and Walter Burley Griffin, was intended to coincide with Marion’s 150 birthday at the Griffin designed Incinerator Willoughby, is now rescheduled from August to 2022
LEAF
AFTER LEAF
Last year I had the renewed joy and pleasure walking through forests under a canopy of trees, along foot tracks around and over rocks. This is called shinrin-yoku in Japanese, forest bathing, a physiological and psychological exercise for wellbeing. Unlike monoculture forests in other countries, Australian forests have a diversity with multispecies of trees, depending on the soil and aspect. The trees are identified often by the leaves on the path.
I was walking the Great North Walk, from Sydney towards Newcastle, and was aware that others had walked these paths before for generations. My prints are inspired by the Forest Portrait drawings of Marion Mahony Griffin from 1919; and by a silk screen poster of Marie McMahon, You are On Aboriginal Land 1984.
( )
a parenthesis of eight, now seven, spaces
HOLD EVERYTHING DEAR, NOW MORE THAN EVER
Ro Murray, Michelle Belgiorno, Mandy Burgess, Deborah Burdett, Renuka Fernando, Jo Meisner, Michelle Connolly, Tilly Lees
Two years ago, back when the world was different, eight artists grouped together to exhibit under a call to hold everything dear. A call that could be anything from an urgent cry out loud - strident and politic - to quieter, mutterings to self. Only it had to be a call for human qualities of survival and resistance against inequity and despair. Since that time however, the eight have sadly and unexpectedly lost one of their group, and now come together once more without her, to exhibit artworks made against that intervening, overwhelming, desperate event of a global pandemic. After grief and isolation, the call is all the more poignant, to hold everything dear, as they say, now more than ever. [Read more of Lisa Pang’s essay]
A site responsive wall construction in 100 and 150 mm PVC strips and nails, 240cm high x 750cm long, and 15 unique lino prints on 300gsm Somerset Satin White paper. Read More…
100 & 150mm PVC nailed to the wall.
Site specific wall-work installed at Articulate Project Space, Leichhardt.
Room size 3 x 7m.
Images Carlos Velasquez
Murray and Burgess are installing their work UN-FOREST, mini dead forest of eleven trees, surrounded by siren yellow skirts. Contour 556 from 10 to 31 October. Installed Northbourne Ave (near Capitol Hill), Canberra.
Originally titled, FORTRESS 2019 seven trees, no longer protected by man-made climate change, as evidence of this year’s droughts, floods and bushfires.