Jan Murphy Gallery
Three decades in, and this is still one of Brisbane's sharpest programs for contemporary Australian art.
Overview
Jan Murphy Gallery opened in 1995, back when Brunswick Street was still finding its feet as an arts strip, and has spent the three decades since turning it into one of Brisbane's most enduring contemporary art spaces. Along the way it's tracked (and helped shape) some significant careers, showing artists like Ben Quilty and Michael Cook well before their current profile.
The gallery sits in the heart of Fortitude Valley's arts precinct – alongside the Edwina Corlette, Judith Wright, and Philip Bacon galleries – with its three interconnected exhibition rooms fronted by street-facing windows that have become a landmark in their own right.
More than 30 established and emerging Australian artists are on the books, spanning painting, sculpture and ceramics. Lucy Culliton, Juz Kitson and Richard Lewer sit alongside a protégé program backing newer names like Archer Davies and Jacqueline Hennessy. Exhibitions turn over roughly every month, backed by substantial stockroom holdings of early and current works.
Beyond the shows, the gallery runs a full art consultancy service: valuations, commission negotiation, and liaison with interior designers and architects for clients building a collection rather than just filling a wall. On-site consultations cover placement, framing, restoration and conservation.
Exhibitions change often, so it's worth checking social media to see what's currently on and to find exhibition launch dates.
Images: Louis Lim.
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