Tampa, FL – Michael Murphy Gallery will present a retrospective of paintings and drawings by Jill Slaymaker, a New York City-based artist who exhibits and lectures worldwide September 8 through October 6. The show spans 38 years, from 1985 to 2023, and includes work in oil, gouache, vinyl, watercolor, pastel and acrylic, India ink and acrylic text collages.
The exhibit will open with a public reception, featuring the artist, on Friday, Sept. 8 at 6 p.m. at Michael Murphy Gallery at 2701 S MacDill Ave, Tampa, FL 33629 in south Tampa. A special children’s mixed media workshop featuring the artist will be held Saturday, Sept. 9, from 10 to 11:30 a.m.
Exhibited nationally and internationally, Slaymaker’s work has been presented at the Tate Modern, London; Dabawenyo Museum, Philippines; and Blum Helman, Pierogi, Arena Gal and Kustera Projects in New York City, as well as other venues. Among her 14 solo exhibition locations are The Nabi Museum of the Arts, NJ, and the Davis Mini-Museum of Contemporary Art, Barcelona, Spain. Slaymaker’s work is in numerous private and public collections, including The Museum of Modern Art, NY and the Whitney Museum of American Art, NY.
Art historian Robert Rosenblum described Slaymaker’s work from the early 1990s as part of the Neo-Sublime and Neo-Romantic landscape movements. Her paintings from that time explore the relationship between nature and modern man, with symbols from science and technology layered over serene landscapes and skies. Her series, “Vanity and Insanity,” includes more than 50 self-portraits in a variety of media. She experimented with stamp printing at this time, which led to the series, “Variations on a Tree of Life,” printed on wood.
Slaymaker returned to Romantic landscapes in the early 2000s, but this time with figures. Soon after, cartoonish art, which had interested her since childhood, led to narrative figure paintings.
“I am intrigued by the vastness of nature, and complex worlds that exist within each other,” Slaymaker says. “My work often depicts otherworldly environments, inhabited by a lone figure a bit lost in a chaotic world.”
Slaymaker’s recent orange tree series was inspired by a trip to Rome, where she became ill and quickly healed while painting under a 900-year-old orange tree still bearing fruit. She includes oranges in much of her work now, as a symbol of rejuvenation and hope.
Slaymaker’s exhibit can be viewed Tuesdays through Fridays, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. September 8 through October 6.
With over 40 years of experience, Michael Murphy Gallery is the premier fine art gallery and custom framing resource in Tampa, FL. More information available at www.MMGart.com, and by calling 813.902.1414.