Jessica Murtagh is an Adelaide based early career artist working with blown glass. Having recently completed a Master’s in Design (Contemporary Art) from the University of South Australia, her practice is currently based out of JamFactory Contemporary Craft and Design. Jessica’s arts practice leans heavily on illustration, using sandcarving and engraving techniques to create imagery and narratives on glass. Her work is predominantly in the form of vessels, which are both functional and sculptural, ranging from vibrant and dramatic to subdued. She draws inspiration from both the natural world and classical artefacts, contrasted with contemporary themes.
A lifelong love of botany sees much of Murtagh’s work inspired by the natural world. Her botanical work endeavours to capture the beauty of nature within the luminous surface of hand crafted blown glass. Jessica’s narrative work is inspired by antiquities from past societies such as the ancient Athenians. Artefacts made of stone, ceramic, metal and glass give glimpses into the stories of their lives, from godly deeds to tableaus depicting everyday moments. Illustrations of the common, mundane scenes of ordinary people are of particular influence on Murtagh’s body of work and a fascination with history and ancient relics has led to exploration of what future artefacts could be, and to question what our contemporary culture will one day leave behind.
She has exhibited in numerous prizes and exhibitions around Australia. Her work is currently on display at the National Gallery of Victoria for the Triennial and was recently awarded the second prize in the inaugural Make Award. Jessica’s work is held in a number of private collections, and was recently collected by the Geelong Gallery, the Powerhouse Museum, the National Gallery of Victoria, Parliament House Art Collection and the Hamilton Art Gallery.
Selected awards
2023 Second prize winner, MAKE Award, Australian Design Centre, Sydney, NSW 2023 Postgraduate Award winner, Helpmann Graduate Exhibition, ACE, SA 2023 Finalist, Adelaide Parklands Prize, Adelaide Festival Centre, SA 2023 Finalist, Ausglass Vicki Torr International Year of Glass prize, Melbourne, VIC
2022 Finalist, Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize, Sydney, NSW 2022 Finalist, The Waterhouse Natural Science Art Prize, SA Museum, SA
2022 Finalist, Tom Malone prize, Art Gallery of Western Australia
2020 Highly Commended, The Waterhouse Natural Science Art Prize, SA Museum, SA
2020 Highly Commended, Wagga Wagga National Emerging Glass Prize, Wagga Wagga Art Gallery, NSW
2020 Awarded a Pilchuck Glass School scholarship to attend Laura Aalto-Setala workshop
2020 Finalist, MilanoVetro -35 prize, Sforza Castle - Museum of Decorative Arts, Milan, Italy 2020 Finalist, Heysen Prize for landscape, Hahndorf Academy, SA 2019 Winner, Vicki Torr Emerging Artist Art Prize, Ausglass, www.ausglass.com.au
2020 Finalist, Tom Bass Figurative Sculpture Prize, Juniper Hall, Paddington, NSW
2019 Finalist, Gallery M Contemporary Art Prize, Gallery M, Marion Cultural Centre, SA
2019 Finalist, Pro Hart Art Prize, Broken Hill Regional Art Gallery, Broken Hill, NSW
Solo exhibitions
2023 Self-titled, Maunsell Wickes Gallery, Sydney, NSW
2023 Collective histories in blue, Grainger Gallery, Canberra, ACT
Grants and residencies
2022 Independent Arts Foundation grant for solo exhibition at Grainger Gallery, ACT
2022 Arts SA Independent Artists Grant for solo exhibition at Grainger Gallery, ACT
2020 Thomas Foundation Artist in Residence, Canberra Glassworks, ACT
2020 USASA Leadership Grant for Thomas Foundation Residency at Canberra Glassworks
2020 National program for the arts grant, Sidney Myer Fund & Myer Foundation, Sydney
2019 Carclew Project and Development grant to attend international glass conference in Whanganui, New Zealand
Selected Group Exhibitions
2023 NGV Triennial, National Gallery of Victoria, Victoria 2023 FOCUS, Melbourne Design Fair (NGV) as part of Melbourne Design Week, Victoria
2023 Net Worth, Canberra Glassworks, Canberra, ACT 2022 Trust: A generous legacy, Hamilton Regional Gallery, VIC 2022 Glass Chrysalis, Wagga Wagga Art Gallery, Wagga Wagga, NSW 2022 Modern Antiquity, Fletcher Arts, Melbourne, Victoria
2022 Nascent Glass, JamFactory, Adelaide, South Australia
2022 Melbourne Design Fair (Craft Victoria) as part of Melbourne Design Week, Victoria
2021 Shaped, Craft Victoria, Melbourne, Victoria
2021 Untitled, Fletcher Arts, Melbourne, Victoria
2021 Future Inheritance: 20 Speculative objects for a time to come,
Jessica Murtagh
Curriculum Vitae
Melbourne Design Week, VIC
2020 This is now, Grainger Gallery, Canberra, ACT
2020 Vi Naturae, joint exhibition with Rita Kellaway, Urban Cow Gallery, SA
Public and Private Collections
2023 Gallery of Geelong
2022 Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences (The Powerhouse Museum)
2022 National Gallery of Victoria
2022 Hamilton Regional Art Gallery
2022 Parliament House Art Collection
2022 Australia Catholic University collection
2021 National Gallery of Victoria
Publications
2022 The Chrysalis effect: Thinking through new practices in glass, Art Monthly Australia
2022 Artist blasts glass to make modern relics, Canberra Times (tinyurl.com/3ur4duub)
2022 New Glass Review 42 magazine, featured artist, Corning Museum of Glass, New York
2022 Contemporary Australian Glass, The Tom Malone Prize 2018-2022, AGWA, WA
2021 National Gallery of Victoria Magazine Nov-Dec issue
2020 New Glass Review 41 magazine, featured artist, Corning Museum of Glass, New York
Education & Professional development
2022 Master of Design (Contemporary Art), University of South Australia
2021 Pattern making and bowls with Ben Edols, Jamfactory, South Australia
2019 Form + Color with Boyd Sugiki and Lisa Zerkowitz, Corning Museum of Glass, USA
2018 Graduate Diploma of Design (Contemporary Art), University of South Australia
2018 Colouring in the fundamentals with Lewis Batchelar and Madeline Prowd, Pilchuck Glass School, Washington, USA
2018 Tumblers: simple perfection with Powell Scott Corning Museum of Glass, New York, USA
2014 Master of Marketing, University of South Australia