Gallery Visit Day!

My experience of Linda Murray's "Chapters"
Color takes command the moment you step into The City Arts Center. Linda Murray’s work doesn’t whisper, it demands. Bold reds and greens dance across her canvases, creating compositions that feel both urgent and intentional.
Her message reads as a tension between worlds: nature versus technology, wildflowers against circuit boards, organic life layered over the infrastructure of data. There’s also a deeper undercurrent, questions about a culture that reveres capitalism with the same devotion once reserved for faith. It’s thought-provoking without being heavy-handed.
One of the most compelling aspects of Murray’s practice is her approach to series. As she writes in her artist statement, “I paint in series. This show includes representative pieces of many different series. I think of each series as a book and each painting within that book as a chapter.” That idea lingers. It invites the viewer to see each piece not as a standalone moment, but as part of a larger unfolding narrative.
She leaves space, too. You can sit with the surface, the striking color, the contrast, the form, or you can lean in and explore the deeper dialogue between nature and data, spirit and system.
Another element that caught my attention was her use of wood cutouts layered over the canvas. These reclaimed pieces, reminiscent of old church wood, add texture, history, and a quiet sense of reverence. They feel like fragments of the past resting on top of the present.
My favorite piece: Infrastructure 3. The Lunar Moth has special significance for me. 
Overall, this exhibit was the highlight of my week. The experience was made even better by the warm welcome from the gallery director, who thoughtfully provided an exhibit listing, a small but meaningful touch that made the visit feel personal.