Biography

There is a vitality, a life force, an energy
A quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium, and be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is, nor how valuable, nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours, directly and clearly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep open and ware directly to the urges that motivate you.
Keep the channel open.

Martha Graham to Agnes DEMille in Dance to the Pipe

Holly S. Murray grew up amidst the wild beauty of rural New England. She is a graduate of Syracuse University, with a B.F.A. in painting and printmaking. She holds a M.F.A. from the University of Massachusetts, where she studied ceramics and photography.

 Holly S. Murray

Throughout Murray’s career, her art process has traversed the terrain between the studio and interactive public collaboration. The content of her art is concerned with cultural and social issues. During the mid nineties, Murray’s nationally traveling show “On the Home Front”, an installation documenting family violence, garnered wide acclaim. An outgrowth of that work explored issues of aging within American popular culture. The result was a series of paintings called “Death, Desire and Ecstasy”. These themes evolved into body of work, called “Good Breeding”; examining the intersection between bio-technology and mega-agricultural practices. Presently, she is continuing her investigation of biogentics and its effects on our world with her painting and works on paper.

As an artist, Murray has had the opportunity to travel both nationally and internationally across New England, the South Pacific and Southeast Asia. Among others, she received an Artist in Residence in Jingdezhen, China. She has also been awarded residency on the Big Island of Hawaii. Her work has been aquired by private collections, educational institutions and corporations. For the past fifteen years, Murray has overseen the Ceramics Department at Springfiled College and is the Director of the William Blizard Gallery. She maintains a studio in Wilbraham, MA.