About The Artist
Through color, texture, and high touch surfaces, Kane-Murrell’s work focuses on an abstract response to the human experience. She often uses classroom detritus in her mixed media work. Her lifelong interest in art, education, and the creative process has nurtured three careers. After graduating wi...
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Founded in 2013, Sparks Gallery exhibits and sells original Contemporary Artwork primarily by Southern California artists who innovate and provide excellent craftsmanship in a multitude of mediums. Through our exhibitions, we aim to elevate both emerging and established artists, providing a platform for their voices to be heard and celebrated. We stand for accessible, affordable, and purposeful art and jewelry that is locally made. 
Remember Joy
Artist: Kathleen Kane-Murrell
Price:
$2,250.00
Medium: Painting
More Details
Creation Date: 2022
Materials: Oil on Canvas
Dimensions: 30" x 30"
Condition: New
Finish: Unframed
About the Item: This is an original oil on canvas painting by Southern California artist, Kathleen Kane Murrell. It is unframed. Its dimensions are 30" x 30" x 1.5". A certificate of authenticity will follow delivery.
Kane-Murrell’s work is inspired by her observation of the interconnectivity between humans and nature, and her longing to reconnect after isolation during the pandemic. Many of her works present themselves like a miniature ecosystem; reverse-painted plexiglass panel is placed between the viewer and the textural backdrop of the work. Highly detailed renderings of butterflies, gingko leaves, and other organic elements painted on the transparent plexiglass appear to float over the materials affixed to the layer behind. Kane-Murrell’s specific style of mixed media collage both unites and contrasts familiar icons of nature with abstraction and human-designed composition.
She reflects “My work is abstractly narrative. I aim between spontaneous and controlled…patinas of layered mark-making reflect my perception of light, color, and sound. When a viewer reaches to touch my work to understand what is seen, I have achieved an elusive goal.”
Kane-Murrell’s work investigates the human experience as but one aspect of the natural world. With work inspired by wondrous natural phenomena that scientists are only beginning to understand, the artist explores the concept of our place in this interconnected web of life. The idea that everything is intertwined, even in ways we may not expect or be aware of, also brought Kane-Murrell comfort during the isolating time of the pandemic. Kane-Murrell holds reverence for the mycorrhizal network (in which trees communicate with each other through their underground root systems), the migration patterns of monarch butterflies, and starling “murmurations” – birds that fly together collectively in groups of seven.
This philosophy is visually explored in the repeating motifs within each work; the artist repeats butterflies, leaves, or cut paper shapes across the piece, drawing attention to their similarities and mass as a group. Subtle changes in these repetitions, such as unique colors or placement, differentiate individual elements from each other. Yet the abstract work is undoubtedly unified, communicating the connectedness of every unit to the entire composition as a whole.
Kane-Murrell’s work is inspired by her observation of the interconnectivity between humans and nature, and her longing to reconnect after isolation during the pandemic. Many of her works present themselves like a miniature ecosystem; reverse-painted plexiglass panel is placed between the viewer and the textural backdrop of the work. Highly detailed renderings of butterflies, gingko leaves, and other organic elements painted on the transparent plexiglass appear to float over the materials affixed to the layer behind. Kane-Murrell’s specific style of mixed media collage both unites and contrasts familiar icons of nature with abstraction and human-designed composition.
She reflects “My work is abstractly narrative. I aim between spontaneous and controlled…patinas of layered mark-making reflect my perception of light, color, and sound. When a viewer reaches to touch my work to understand what is seen, I have achieved an elusive goal.”
Kane-Murrell’s work investigates the human experience as but one aspect of the natural world. With work inspired by wondrous natural phenomena that scientists are only beginning to understand, the artist explores the concept of our place in this interconnected web of life. The idea that everything is intertwined, even in ways we may not expect or be aware of, also brought Kane-Murrell comfort during the isolating time of the pandemic. Kane-Murrell holds reverence for the mycorrhizal network (in which trees communicate with each other through their underground root systems), the migration patterns of monarch butterflies, and starling “murmurations” – birds that fly together collectively in groups of seven.
This philosophy is visually explored in the repeating motifs within each work; the artist repeats butterflies, leaves, or cut paper shapes across the piece, drawing attention to their similarities and mass as a group. Subtle changes in these repetitions, such as unique colors or placement, differentiate individual elements from each other. Yet the abstract work is undoubtedly unified, communicating the connectedness of every unit to the entire composition as a whole.
About The Artist
Through color, texture, and high touch surfaces, Kane-Murrell’s work focuses on an abstract response to the human experience. She often uses classroom detritus in her mixed media work. Her lifelong interest in art, education, and the creative process has nurtured three careers. After graduating with a degree in marketing from San Diego State University, she worked as a corporate trainer and manager. In 1990, she translated corporate skills into an award- winning children’s art program, Fine Artists. Kane-Murrell’s professional art career began in 2007. She has exhibited throughout San Diego and Southern California, including solo shows in Liberty Station, Ray Street Arts District, Japanese Friendship Garden Museum, and Sophie’s Gallery. She has juried in the Oceanside Museum of Art, Cannon Gallery, San Diego Art Institute and La Jolla Athenaeum. Her work is in personal collections throughout the United States, Japan, and Singapore. “My work is abstractly narrative. I aim between spontaneous and controlled. Influences include art history, travel, music, and literature. Patinas of layered mark-making reflect my perception of light, color, and sound. When a viewer reaches to touch my work to understand what is seen, I have achieved an elusive goal.”
