Face Shapes 2002

Catherine Murphy made this painting, Face Shapes, and right away, what grabs me is the raw honesty in the way she's approached the mark-making. It's not about being perfect; it's about the process of seeing and feeling. The texture here is everything. Look at the way the paint sits on the canvas—sometimes thick, sometimes almost translucent. You can practically see the movement of her hand as she painted those shapes, a circle, a square, and a triangle, each one a bold gesture framing the face. The square feels particularly assertive. What I love about Murphy’s work is how she embraces ambiguity. She reminds me a little of Fairfield Porter, in that she uses the everyday and imbues it with a quiet intensity. It's like she's saying, "Here's the world, with all its messiness and complexity—deal with it." And maybe that's what art is all about—not giving us answers, but inviting us to ask better questions.