Since childhood, Metal Sculptor Jane Murtagh has experienced a ‘confusion’ of senses, later referred to as synaesthesia. Music is the background voice to the artist’s life and contemporary jazz the idiom through which much of her work has been realised.
For this exhibition Jane has delved into and been inspired by the compositions of the jazz musician and composer Carole Nelson.
Synaesthesia is central to the work of Kandinsky and Jane spent time researching Kandinsky’s work, leading her to create a body of work which is bold and ambitious in scale, opening new possibilities to viewers and encouraging us to explore the boundaries of our perceptions.
Murtagh’s sculptures have a subtle presence. They are quiet reflective pieces with deep roots in the natural world, and being made of metal, they change according to the light.
In her work, Murtagh considers elements that are easily overlooked: musical notations; the texture of bark; the intricate details of lichen and moss, and for this exhibition Jane has created a series of large-scale drawings to accompany the sculptures.