Variations 1974 – 1983

Deborah Hanson Murphy was born in Stockton, California, in 1931. She graduated from Stanford University in 1953 and later studied at the Art Students League of New York from 1957 to 1958. She produced most of her work in Paris, her adopted city, where she lived from 1968 until her death in 2018. Variations 1974–1983 is the first exhibition of her work in Mexico. The nine works gathered here not only break with the conventions of still life but also adopt a markedly sober, almost ascetic approach by excluding intensity and expressive excess. The genre of variation, which emerged as a formal concept in the 16th century, found its most celebrated expression in music, particularly in the work of Johann Sebastian Bach. In Hanson Murphy’s hands, however, variation is translated into a visual language: repetition becomes a tool for meditation rather than innovation, and subtle changes in form, tone, and composition invite a more deliberate and contemplative interaction with the image. Instead of highlighting differences, these paintings focus on nuances: each canvas echoes the next, as if testing the limits of perception itself. Through this disciplined vocabulary, Hanson Murphy constructs a body of work that is both rigorous and subtly radical, placing her practice outside the dominant narratives of her time. Her solo exhibitions include Galerie Balice Hertling, Paris, 2023; Espace culturel de Sully-sur-Loire, Loiret, 2011-12; Galerie Emeric Hahn, Paris, 2011; Galerie Darial, Paris, 1987, 1991; and Galerie Valmay, Paris, 1981. Group exhibitions include Kate MacGarry Gallery, London / Chris Sharp Gallery, Los Angeles; Salon des Réalités Nouvelles, Paris (1988-2009); Feingarten Galleries, Los Angeles, CA, 1982; Small Works Competition, New York University, New York, 1985; and Salon des Femmes, Paris, 1978-1992. Her work is part of the permanent collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, USA; the Fonds National d’Art Contemporain (France); and Martha’s Vineyard Hospital – Permanent Art Collection, Massachusetts, United States.