Margaret Murphy

Work samples

Quiet Piggy #2

oil and vinyl letters on canvas on wood
2026
18"h x 14"w
This series of paintings are still life that reference 18th and 19th century painting traditions. I intentionally keep these compositions generic, tapping into their familiarity and cultural authority. Beneath the painted surface, I embed text drawn from current day political discourse, including language reflecting backlash against women’s rights, attacks on female journalist, and sexist remarks made by the current political powers that allow historical visual conventions to collide with present-day realities.
Banned Words

oil paint and vinyl letters on canvas mounted on wood
2025
18"h x 12"w
Still life oil painting reminiscent of 18th century still life (cantaloupe styled after a Chardin painting) An A-Z list of banned words are embedded under the surface of the painting. These are words no longer allowed in NIH grant applications. ABORTION, BREASTFEED, COMMUNITY, DEI, EQUALITY, FEMALE, GENDER, HEALTH EQUITY INTERSECTIONAL, KEY GROUPS, LGBTQ, MENTAL HEALTH NONBINARY, OPPRESSION, PREGNANT PERSON, RACISM, SYSTEMIC, TRANSGENDER, UNDERREPRESENTED, VICTIM, WOMEN

Available for Purchase
"WHETHER THE WOMEN LIKE IT OR NOT"

oil paint and vinyl letters on wood panel
30"h x 22"w
2025
Text is a direct quote from Donald Trump about "protecting" women "whether they like it or not".
The resin sculpture was purchased on Amazon as a generic "antiquity"
My recent paintings take the form of oil on canvas still life and landscapes that reference 18th- and 19th-century European painting traditions. I intentionally keep these images generic, tapping into their familiarity and cultural authority. Beneath the painted surface, I embed vinyl letters that spell out text drawn from present-day political discourse, including language reflecting backlash against women’s rights, allowing historical visual conventions to collide with present-day realities.
UGLY, STUPID, NASTY

Oil and vinyl letters on canvas mounted on wood.
18"h x 14"w
2026
Painting of a plaster cast of a female hand with the words Ugly, stupid, nasty just under the surface.
The contrast between the refinement of traditional painting and the crudeness of the embedded language is central to my practice, allowing beauty to function as a means of critical engagement rather than escape.

About Margaret

Margaret Murphy is a conceptual realist painter who uses craft and beauty to engage with complex themes of gender, consumer culture, and aesthetic history.

Murphy earned her MFA in Painting from Rutgers University Mason Gross School of the Arts and has served as Director of the Center for Visual Arts at Johns Hopkins University since 2018.

Murphy’s work has been recognized with awards from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, the Maryland State Arts… more

“Grotesqueries”

I am a conceptual realist painter who uses craft and beauty to engage with complex themes of gender, consumer culture, and aesthetic history.

This series of paintings are still life that reference 18th and 19th century painting traditions. I intentionally keep these compositions generic, tapping into their familiarity and cultural authority. Beneath the painted surface, I embed text drawn from current day political discourse, including language reflecting backlash against women’s rights, attacks on female journalist, and sexist remarks made by the current political powers that allow historical visual conventions to collide with present-day realities.

"WHETHER THE WOMEN LIKE IT OR NOT"

"WHETHER THE WOMEN LIKE IT OR NOT"
oil, acrylic, vinyl letters on panel
30" x 22"
2024
Statement made by Donald Trump during the election season about how he would protect women "whether they like it or not"
detail: WHETHER THE WOMEN LIKE IT OR NOT

2024
Banned Words

18" h x 12"w
2025
oil and vinyl letters on canvas on wood
Still life painting reminiscent of an 18th - 19th century painting. Slightly under the surface of the painting is an A-Z list of banned words.
ABORTION, BREASTFEED, COMMUNITY, DEI, EQUALITY, FEMALE, GENDER, HEALTH EQUITY INTERSECTIONAL, KEY GROUPS, LGBTQ, MENTAL HEALTH NONBINARY, OPPRESSION, PREGNANT PERSON, RACISM, SYSTEMIC, TRANSGENDER, UNDERREPRESENTED, VICTIM, WOMEN
detail: Banned Words

detail: Banned Words
oil and vinyl letters on canvas on wood
Quiet Piggy#2

18" h x 14"w
oil and vinyl letters on canvas on wood
2026
detail: Quiet Piggy #2

detail of Quiet Piggy #2
2026
Quiet Piggy #1

Quiet Piggy #1
2025
oil and vinyl letters on canvas mounted on wood
18"h x 14"w
UGLY, STUPID, NASTY

UGLY, STUPID, NASTY"
18"H X 14"W
2026
Oil and vinyl letters on canvas on wood
YOUR BODY MY CHOICE

18"h x 14"w
2025
oil and vinyl letters on canvas on wood
Are you Stupid.jpg

16" diameter
oil and vinyl letter son canvas on wood
2026

Clouds (M-I-S-O-G-Y-N-Y))

Clouds (M-I-S-O-G-Y-N-Y) are a series of paintings made between Nov 5 2024 and Nov 30th, 2024

This series of eight paintings, created in November, 2024, features individual cloud paintings with subtly embossed letters hidden within their forms. When displayed horizontally, the clouds collectively spell out the word "MISOGYNY."

Vinyl letter, gesso & oil paint on canvas

2024

Clouds (MISOGYNY)

eight 9" x 12" paintings of skies. Each has one letter spelling MISOGYNY

Nov. 2024

oil on canvas

This series of eight paintings, created between November 5th and 12th, 2024, features individual clouds with subtly embossed letters hidden within their forms. When displayed horizontally, the clouds collectively spell out the word "MISOGYNY."
Clouds (M-I-S-O-G-Y-N-Y)) M

Cloud (M)

9" x 12"

oil, acrylic and vinyl letter on canvas

Available for Purchase
M cloud detail
Clouds (M-I-S-O-G-Y-N-Y)) I

Cloud (I)

9" x 12"

oil, acrylic and vinyl letter on canvas
Clouds (M-I-S-O-G-Y-N-Y)) S

Cloud (S)

9" x 12"

oil, acrylic and vinyl letter on canvas

Available for Purchase
Clouds (M-I-S-O-G-Y-N-Y)) O

Cloud (O)

9" x 12"

oil, acrylic and vinyl letter on canvas

Available for Purchase
Clouds (M-I-S-O-G-Y-N-Y)) G

Cloud (G)

9" x 12"

oil, acrylic and vinyl letter on canvas

Available for Purchase
Clouds (M-I-S-O-G-Y-N-Y)) Y

Cloud (Y)

9" x 12"

oil, acrylic and vinyl letter on canvas

Available for Purchase
Clouds (M-I-S-O-G-Y-N-Y)) N

Cloud (N)

9" x 12"

oil, acrylic and vinyl letter on canvas

Available for Purchase
Clouds (M-I-S-O-G-Y-N-Y)) Y

Cloud (Y)

9" x 12"

oil, acrylic and vinyl letter on canvas

Available for Purchase

Rubbings

Like a Play Toy
Manosphere
Blood coming out of her eyes
Manosphere (red)
detail: Manosphere (red)
Manosphere (black and white)
detail: Manosphere
Quiet Piggy #2

charcoal rubbing of text on canvas.
charcoal on rice paper
2026
20"h x 18"w
Ugly, Stupid, Nasty

charcoal on rice paper
2026
20"h x 18"w
Ugly, Stupid Nasty

charcoal on rice paper
2026
20"h x 18"w

American Beauty

My paintings and mixed media work interrogate the complex interplay between gender and consumer culture. By examining how mass-produced beauty products, clothing and everyday decorative objects reinforce traditional gender roles, I aim to expose the subtle yet pervasive ways these cultural forces shape our identities.

My practice is rooted in a fascination with the 2D surface and the potential for ideas to materialize within its boundaries. I believe that by revealing the constructed nature of femininity in contemporary society, my work invites viewers to question their own assumptions and challenge prevailing norms.

American Beauty

American Beauty

14" h x 77"w

oil on wood panel

2024

Available for Purchase

contact artist
detail- American Beauty

detail

oil on wood panel

each panel 14" x 11"
detail- American Beauty

detail

oil on wood panel

each panel 14" x 11"
detail- American Beauty

detail

oil on wood panel

each panel 14" x 11"
Hair

Hair

oil on wood panel

2024

14" x 44"
detail: Hair

Detail of Hair 2 of 4 panels
detail - Hair

Detail, Hair

14" x 11"

oil on wood panel

2024

My paintings and mixed media work interrogate the complex interplay between gender and consumer culture. By examining how mass-produced beauty products, clothing and everyday decorative objects reinforce traditional gender roles, I aim to expose the subtle yet pervasive ways these cultural forces shape our identities.

My practice is rooted in a fascination with the 2D surface and the potential for ideas to materialize within its boundaries. I believe that by revealing the constructed nature of femininity in contemporary society, my work invites viewers to question their own assumptions and challenge prevailing norms.
erase your face.jpg

Erase Your Face

14" x 11"

oil on wood panel

2024

Available for Purchase

contact artist

Spin to Win

Through mixed media paintings, my work dissects the pervasive commodification of femininity within contemporary society and the pressure placed on women to conform to unrealistic beauty standards throughout their lives.

Beauty products, clothing, shapewear, figurines, and toys become the central characters in my work, acting as potent symbols of societal expectations.

My latest series utilizes the carnival spinning wheel as a central motif. Divided into triptychs, each wheel portrays a specific stage in a woman's life: toddler, young adult, and mature woman. These playful yet sinister contraptions showcase the ever-present, age-specific beauty ideals marketed towards women. Products plastered on the wheels promise to maintain youth, a perfect figure, and an idealized, "princess-like" state.

The juxtaposition of vibrant acrylics, mimicking the commercial world's superficiality, with meticulously rendered oil paintings of the products, creates a sense of hyper-reality. This visual language emphasizes the constructed nature of beauty standards and the pressure to conform.

While the two-dimensional surface offers a platform for this exploration, the act of painting itself becomes a form of resistance. Through this process, I reclaim the narrative surrounding femininity, transforming these mass-produced objects into a critical commentary on societal pressures.

Spin to Win

Spin to Win

oil and acrylic on wood panel

40" x 40" each

2023-24

Each panel depicts a stage of a girl/woman and the beauty products marketed to them to stay young, fresh, rescued, erased etc. The first panel is toddler age (yellow background) the second panel is young woman (pink background) and the third is mature woman (red background)

Through mixed media paintings, my work dissects the pervasive commodification of femininity within contemporary society and the pressure placed on women to conform to unrealistic beauty standards throughout their lives.

This series utilizes the carnival spinning wheel as a central motif. Divided into triptychs, each wheel portrays a specific stage in a woman's life: toddler, young adult, and mature woman. These playful yet sinister contraptions showcase the ever-present, age-specific beauty ideals marketed towards women. Products plastered on the wheels promise to maintain youth, a perfect figure, and an idealized, "princess-like" state.

The juxtaposition of vibrant acrylics, mimicking the commercial world's superficiality, with meticulously rendered oil paintings of the products, creates a sense of hyper-reality. This visual language emphasizes the constructed nature of beauty standards and the pressure to conform.

While the two-dimensional surface offers a platform for this exploration, the act of painting itself becomes a form of resistance. Through this process, I reclaim the narrative surrounding femininity, transforming these mass-produced objects into a critical commentary on societal pressures.

Available for Purchase

contact artist
Spin to Win panel #1 (toddler)

Spin to Win panel #1 (toddler)

oil and acrylic on wood panel

40" x 40"

2023-24

Through mixed media paintings, my work dissects the pervasive commodification of femininity within contemporary society and the pressure placed on women to conform to unrealistic beauty standards throughout their lives.

Beauty products, clothing, shapewear, figurines, and toys become the central characters in my work, acting as potent symbols of societal expectations.

My latest series utilizes the carnival spinning wheel as a central motif. Divided into triptychs, each wheel portrays a specific stage in a woman's life: toddler, young adult, and mature woman. These playful yet sinister contraptions showcase the ever-present, age-specific beauty ideals marketed towards women. Products plastered on the wheels promise to maintain youth, a perfect figure, and an idealized, "princess-like" state.

The juxtaposition of vibrant acrylics, mimicking the commercial world's superficiality, with meticulously rendered oil paintings of the products, creates a sense of hyper-reality. This visual language emphasizes the constructed nature of beauty standards and the pressure to conform.

While the two-dimensional surface offers a platform for this exploration, the act of painting itself becomes a form of resistance. Through this process, I reclaim the narrative surrounding femininity, transforming these mass-produced objects into a critical commentary on societal pressures.
Detail

detail of painting showing princess underwear and barbie accessories

acrylic and oil on wood panel
Spin to Win ( panel #2)

Spin to Win ( panel #2)

oil and acrylic on wood panel

40" x 40"

2023-24

Through mixed media paintings, my work dissects the pervasive commodification of femininity within contemporary society and the pressure placed on women to conform to unrealistic beauty standards throughout their lives.

Beauty products, clothing, shapewear, figurines, and toys become the central characters in my work, acting as potent symbols of societal expectations.

My latest series utilizes the carnival spinning wheel as a central motif. Divided into triptychs, each wheel portrays a specific stage in a woman's life: toddler, young adult, and mature woman. These playful yet sinister contraptions showcase the ever-present, age-specific beauty ideals marketed towards women. Products plastered on the wheels promise to maintain youth, a perfect figure, and an idealized, "princess-like" state.

The juxtaposition of vibrant acrylics, mimicking the commercial world's superficiality, with meticulously rendered oil paintings of the products, creates a sense of hyper-reality. This visual language emphasizes the constructed nature of beauty standards and the pressure to conform.

While the two-dimensional surface offers a platform for this exploration, the act of painting itself becomes a form of resistance. Through this process, I reclaim the narrative surrounding femininity, transforming these mass-produced objects into a critical commentary on societal pressures.
Detail: Spin to Win ( panel #2)

Detail: Spin to Win #2

oil on wood
Spin to Win panel #3

Spin to Win panel #3

Through mixed media paintings, my work dissects the pervasive commodification of femininity within contemporary society and the pressure placed on women to conform to unrealistic beauty standards throughout their lives.
detail: Spin to Win panel #3

Detail: Spin toWin #3
Detail: Spin to Win panel #3

Detail: Spin to Win
Spin to Win Shapewear

Spin to Win - Shapewear

acrylic, oil and plastic on paper

Through mixed media paintings, my work dissects the pervasive commodification of femininity within contemporary society and the pressure placed on women to conform to unrealistic beauty standards throughout their lives.
detail: Spin to Win Shapewear

Detail: Spin to Win - Shape wear

acrylic, oil and plastic on paper

Through mixed media paintings, my work dissects the pervasive commodification of femininity within contemporary society and the pressure placed on women to conform to unrealistic beauty standards throughout their lives.

Women in Black

Women in Black series
2016
silkscreen, watercolor and acrylic on paper
19 1/4" h x 13" w each

The “Women in Black” paintings (in a black silkscreened frame) I started in Michigan around the time of the 2016 election. I heard a story about women in Poland protesting the anti-choice legislation there and thousands of women left work, school, home,etc. and went into the streets all in black to protest. My series with the silkscreened frames with black clothing inside is my version of this protest after the 2016 election. I used back clothes from thrift stores, my closet, on line, friends clothes etc. The idea is that they are everyday women’s clothing. The laws controlling women’s bodies and choice effect everyday women…The clothes needn’t be formal mourning clothes.
I silkscreened the frame as the constant in the paintings then painted a different article of clothing in each frame.

Nasty Woman

Nasty Woman, 29" h x 19"w, silkscreen, acrylic and watercolor on paper

My 'Women in Black' series, initiated around the 2016 election, is inspired by Polish women's powerful protest against anti-choice legislation. By framing everyday clothing items in black silkscreened frames, I aim to visually represent the impact of laws restricting women's bodily autonomy. These ordinary garments, sourced from thrift stores, my closet, and online, symbolize the universal experience of women affected by such policies.

The Nasty Woman t-shirt is in reference to Trumps comment to Hillary Clinton during he debates of 2016.
Women in Black

Women in Black, series of mixed media paintings, silkscreen, acrylic and watercolor on paper, 2018

My 'Women in Black' series, initiated around the 2016 election, is inspired by Polish women's powerful protest against anti-choice legislation. By framing everyday clothing items in black silkscreened frames, I aim to visually represent the impact of laws restricting women's bodily autonomy. These ordinary garments, sourced from thrift stores, my closet, and online, symbolize the universal experience of women affected by such policies.

Available for Purchase

contact artist
Women in Black - summer dress

29" h x 19"w, silkscreen, acrylic and watercolor on paper

My 'Women in Black' series, initiated around the 2016 election, is inspired by Polish women's powerful protest against anti-choice legislation. By framing everyday clothing items in black silkscreened frames, I aim to visually represent the impact of laws restricting women's bodily autonomy. These ordinary garments, sourced from thrift stores, my closet, and online, symbolize the universal experience of women affected by such policies.
Women in Black- leopard dress

Women in Black - 29" h x 19"w, silkscreen, acrylic and watercolor on paper

My 'Women in Black' series, initiated around the 2016 election, is inspired by Polish women's powerful protest against anti-choice legislation. By framing everyday clothing items in black silkscreened frames, I aim to visually represent the impact of laws restricting women's bodily autonomy. These ordinary garments, sourced from thrift stores, my closet, and online, symbolize the universal experience of women affected by such policies.

Vanitas

The two large Vanitas paintings pay tribute to individuals whose lives took on a public identity as cultural influencers or agents of change. The flower arrangements; symbolic and larger than life, are still life paintings that respond to “momentous events of history” while honoring the individual whose private life became public. The paintings are inspired by Dutch flower paintings, filled with symbolism and color devises that reinforce the historic event or people the painting is honoring. In Vanitas, Women of Change the preponderance of yellow and white flowers represent the suffragettes while the bee is a nod to Beyoncé (Queen B), and lady bugs can be found in all prosperous gardens like the flower arrangement depicted that honors women who have changed the world. In Vanitas, Black Lives Matter, the flowers are mostly perennials, symbolizing the lasting and continually recurring nature of the violence against African Americans by law enforcement. The name tributes continue to fall from the flower arrangement symbolizing the passage of time and perennial nature of the violence.

Vanitas - Women of Change

oil on wood panel, 48" x 48", 2020

According to Norman Bryson, still life painting is “at a level of existence where events are not at all large-scale, momentous events of History, but the small-scale, forgettable acts of bodily survival and self-maintenance”.

It is with this thought in mind that I painted flowers, in part as a form of self-maintenance; and as the 2019 impeachment trials lead to a global pandemic (2020) and racial justice protests (2021), the paintings grew to respond to the events of history unfolding, through the overlooked and humble still life.

The two large oil on wood panel flower paintings include tributes to individuals whose lives had become public through their own acts or the acts of others perpetrated against them. Wanting to address the power of the individual and the collective, the flower arrangements; large, diverse, symbolic and larger than life, are still life paintings that paint a portrait of “momentous events of history” while honoring the individual whose private life became public.

The paintings harken back to baroque still life painting, employing symbolism and color devices that create austere arrangements imbued with cultural signifiers and timely juxtapositions between individual and group, personal and public, joyous and sad.
detail- Hillary
Detail: Women of Change (Hillary, RGB, Audre, Alma, Michelle, Sonya)

Detail
detail
Detail: Women of Change (Queen B)
Vanitas - Black Lives Matter

Oil on wood panel 48" x 48" 2020 According to Norman Bryson, still life painting is “at a level of existence where events are not at all large-scale, momentous events of History, but the small-scale, forgettable acts of bodily survival and self-maintenance”. It is with this thought in mind that I painted flowers, in part as a form of self-maintenance; and as impeachment trials lead to a global pandemic and racial justice protests, the paintings grew to respond to the events of history unfolding, through the overlooked and humble still life. The two large oil on wood panel flower paintings include tributes to individuals whose lives had become public through their own acts or the acts of others perpetrated against them. Wanting to address the power of the individual and the collective, the flower arrangements; large, diverse, symbolic and larger than life, are still life paintings that paint a portrait of “momentous events of history” while honoring the individual whose private life became public. The paintings harken back to baroque still life painting, employing symbolism and color devices that create austere arrangements imbued with cultural signifiers and timely juxtapositions between individual and group, personal and public, joyous and sad.
In the collection of Art Bank Collection, DC commission on the Arts and Humanities.
Detail: Vanitas - Black Lives Matter

Detail Vanitas - BLM
Detail: Vanitas - Black Lives Matter

Detail Vanitas - Black Lives Matter
detail: Vanitas - Black Lives Matter
detail

Fresh Flowers

The paintings, Fresh Flowers, I began when 1st the impeachment trials started and vowed to make one a week until DJT was impeached. I felt the need to create objects of beauty to comfort the fatigue we all feel, especially women in the age of Trump. Flower paintings have always been considered a lesser form of painting, concerned with the senses therefore not serious. My flower paintings are strongly asserted images of form, beauty and design meant to assert themselves boldly and unapologetically.

According to Norman Bryson, still life painting is “at a level of existence where events are not at all large-scale, momentous events of History, but the small-scale, forgettable acts of bodily survival and self-maintenance”. It is with this thought in mind that I painted flowers, in part as a form of self-maintenance; and as impeachment trials lead to a global pandemic and racial justice protests, the paintings grew to respond to the events of history unfolding. My oil on paper and wood panel flower paintings are compositions based on familiar and shared cultural artifacts.

Fresh Flowers - Yellow Flowers

oil on paper 30"h x 22"w 2020
Fresh Flowers

Fresh Flowers, oil on paper, 30" h x 22" w each 2019 - 2021 My oil on paper flower paintings are compositions based on familiar and shared cultural artifacts. While painting these I realized that I tapped into a collective desire for some form of comfort in troubled times, at the same time, also challenging the historic bias against flower paintings/still life as a less serious art form. I frequented Trader Joe’s and other grocery stores to purchase flowers and the vases I purchased at Ikea, West Elm and second hand stores. These artifacts are steeped in cultural ideas of beauty, class and domestic space through their commercial accessibility and price point; some are mass produced and inexpensive while others are unique and or “designer”.
Fresh Flowers

Fresh Flowers, oil on paper 2019 - 2020
Studio View

Studio View of work in Progress 2020
Fresh Flowers-orange vase

oil on paper 30" h x 22"w 2020
Fresh Flowers - striped vase

oil on paper 30" h x 22"w 2020
Fresh Flowers

Fresh Flower #6 oil on paper, 30" x 22", 2019
Fresh Flowers

Fresh Flowers #4, oil on paper, 30"h x 22"w 2019

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