This artifice plays off, but never negates, the images, which, it turns out, are sources in a whole different artificial means: photography.

— TODD MURPHY: PICTURES AND VARIATIONS BY PETER FRANK

The artist is a skilled draftsman Who clearly understands the human form such a grasp of the anatomy would say God's forte, and it makes sense that Murphy would draw inspiration from the French impressionist, tender dancers. --Luann Sanders, 1991

“I've gone from three-dimensional sculpture to two dimensional photography to drawing and painting,” explains Murphy. “I'm dealing with changes. All the mediums keep changing and that's intriguing to me.” MURPHY, 1991

Becoming Then , 1990, 80 x 108 in.
For this powerful series of paintings and sketches, Murphy posed antique dress-forms on rollers found in junk stores around town. - Luann Sanders, 1991 — Becoming Then , 1990, 80 x 108 in. For this powerful series of paintings and sketches, Murphy posed antique dress-forms on rollers found in junk stores around town. - Luann Sanders, 1991

“This is what started it all” says Murphy pointing to a picture of a Degas bronze sculpture of a young ballerina Grande Danseuse Habille. Degas Cast the pre-who prepubescent dancer in bronze, then adored her with real fabrics, such as a tutu, a pink gauze, and a ribbon a pink satin in her sculpture sculpted hair. The bronze is perfection, the fabric is human, and the combination of the two is ingenious.--1991

For this powerful series of paintings and sketches, Murphy posed antique dress-forms on rollers found in junk stores around town.

Known for having a pension for exposing the artistic process, as well as the Art, MURPHY also will display the antique dress warm alongside the artwork he has embellished the dress frames, (one has a tutu fabricated from dried roses) to let them emerge as sculpture. The result is a diverse sampling of Murphy's untrammeled talents. 1991

He also experiments with photography applying various photos to images to create a highly sophisticated collage effect.- Sanders, 1991

this powerful series of paintings and sketches, Murphy posed antique dress-forms on rollers found in junk stores around town.

In an uncharacteristic move, Murphy also offers scaled down sketches on wood that he calls “shrouds”. 1991

He also experiments with photography applying various photos to images to create a highly sophisticated collage effect. The texture reflects Murphy's uncanny sense of style while the figures further evidence that the artist is a skilled draftsman Who clearly understands the human form

Todd Murphy maneuvers in this little room, however, and maneuvers with great and increasing skill. Indeed, in Murphy's hands, that little room becomes enormous, almost limitless---without growing any bigger. In optical terms Murphy effects this spatial conundrum through a combination of traditional, even anachronistic method and technique that is nothing if not contemporary. Murphy paints with oils -and with tar, and, in a sense with plexiglass, all enhanced with such extra- painter devices as Phillips-head screws and wood dowels. He does not render his images with these media, but creates with them both the pervading illusive atmosphere, with its inference of recessional space, and the elements which admit and even emphasize the artifice of the entire picture. This artifice plays off, but never negates, the images, which, it turns out, are sources in a whole different artificial means: photography. 

— TODD MURPHY: PICTURES AND VARIATIONS BY PETER FRANK