Melissa Murray is a Brooklyn-based artist. She is “deeply inspired by psychoanalytics, her drawings are derived from the extensive logging of her dreams and sub-conscious experiences,” according to her interview in Company. “The unusual combinations of imagery she uses certainly render her work remeniscent of dreams and thought processes.” Her work been featured in The Village Voice, Juxtapoz Magazine, Architectural Digest, and L Magazine.
How did you find yourself in the arts – or how did the arts find you?
It’s something I’ve always done and one opportunity has always lead to another.
Who has been a big influence to you in your career?
I always seem to surround myself with older women mentors. I gain a lot of insight in my practice through their life experience and in seeing the evolution of their work. I hear their advice in the studio and take pride in their successes in a male dominated field.
When you hit a creative block, how do you move forward?
Dry spells make me depressed and emotionally unavailable. Being stuck creatively translates into a lot real life grief for me. It’s a dark place but in its own way inspirational, it’s where the heart hurts. It’s an inevitable journey that always seems to end on a incline, the work always comes. After a moment of time, a contemplation of those stalled moments, a few inspiring shows, art/music or otherwise or a thoughtful conversation will usually be enough for me to organize my tools and just “be” in my studio. Shortly after, a cloud is lifted and I can begin to work.
What legacy do you hope your work creates / What message do you hope it communicates?
That our struggles and experiences are connected and universal. That our subconscious is an important, otherworldly place where we love and hurt, problem solve and problem make. That the things we see, the thoughts we have and the words we never say still can create a complete vision, another secret world in which we all live.
How do you define success?
Visibility and having a strong connection with my audience. Knowing why someone would like to live with my work.
See more of Melissa’s work at melissamurraynyc.com.