Conor Murgatroyd
London — Painting
Since receiving his BA in Fine Art from Chelsea College of Art in 2016, Conor Murgatroyd's work has been exhibited internationally — at Saatchi Gallery (London), WOAW Gallery (Hong Kong), Chen Projects (Taipei) and Fir Gallery (China). Murgatroyd's practice explores history and philosophy, translated through personal experience. The poetic worlds that he creates are a direct response to the intellectual fusion of images, personal and external. His "inner landscapes", which he recreates and works from, are an attempt to render the visible via painting. His paintings act as a stage which brings together the myriad of characters and objects he has come into contact with, both imagined and lived. In Murgatroyd's work he draws attention not to external reality as such, but rather to the unfathomable mystery behind it.
Conor Murgatroyd (b. 1995, Bradford, West Yorkshire). He received his BA Fine Art from Chelsea College of Art in 2016 and was awarded the Knights of The Round Table award shortly after. His works are manifestations of his inner landscape, deeply rooted in his past, familial heritage, and cultural influences. Through his visual language, he seeks to give form to his subconscious and thoughts, creating a dialogue with the "soul" of his past and present. The poetic worlds that he creates are a direct response to the intellectual fusion of images, personal and external. His paintings act as a stage which brings together the myriad of characters and objects he has come into contact with; both imaged and lived. In Murgatroyd's work he draws attention, not to the external reality as such, but rather to the unfathomable mystery behind this.
Education
- 2013–2016 — Chelsea College of Art, Fine Art
- 2011–2013 — Leeds College of Art, Art and Design
Awards & Residencies
- 2017 — FBA Futures Painting Award
- 2017 — Knights of the Round Table Painting Award
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Selected Works
Exhibition History
Solo Shows
- 2025The Glass Key, Lychee One, London
- 2024Tick Tock, Tick Tock, Tick Tock, Woaw Gallery, Hong Kong
- 2023Through The Looking Glass, Chen Projects, Taipei
- 2022Memory of a Voyage, Chen Projects, Taipei
- 2021Relation, Lychee One, London
- 2019Interiors, Haggerston, London
Group Shows
- 2022Showstopper, Saatchi Gallery, London
- 2022Painting In Context, Fir Gallery, Beijing, China
- 2022Touch Wood, Eve Leibe Gallery, Berlin
- 2022Talking All Day, Badr El Jundi, Spain
- 2022Wish Lust, Kravitz Contemporary, London
- 2022The Uncanny Valley, The Room, London (with Peter Doyle)
- 2021History's Shadow Marks The Beginning, Grove Collective, London
- 2021Cave Canem, Eve Leibe Gallery (online)
- 2020Art in Context, China
- 2020Group Exhibition, All Mouth Gallery
- 2017FBA Futures, Mall Galleries, London
- 2016Chelsea College of Art Degree Show, London
Press & Publications
- “Conor Murgatroyd’s obsession with history fuels his colourful and allegorical paintings”, It's Nice That — 2023
- “Raising Boys: adolescence, masculinity and the blurry lines where they meet”, The Face — 2022
- Conor Murgatroyd, Young Artists in Conversation — 2022
- “How I Wear It: Retro-Modern Artist Conor Murgatroyd”, MR PORTER — 2022
- Too Hot Limited C.P. Company / Stone Island deadstock feature, Hypebeast — 2021
- “The Upcoming: Normality & Other Wonders”, FAD Magazine — 2021
- “Conor Murgatroyd Interview — ‘I love good characters, they’re what makes the world go round’”, FAD Magazine — 2021
- “Conor Murgatroyd: RELATION”, Art Plugged — 2021
- Jacob Barnes, critical essay on Conor Murgatroyd, COEVAL Magazine — 2021
- “Conor Murgatroyd Captures The Banality Of Everyday Life”, Art Plugged — 2021
- “Artist Conor Murgatroyd on locality, optimism and hope”, The Face — 2021
- “History’s Shadow Marks the Beginning at Grove Collective”, Art Spiel — 2021
- “Conor Murgatroyd — Lychee One”, The Editorial Magazine — 2021
- “British art special”, The Face — 2020
- “Conor Murgatroyd’s paintings celebrate the multiculturalism of Britain today”, It's Nice That — 2020
- “Conor Murgatroyd’s paintings inspire hope for summers to come”, The Face — 2020
- Conor Murgatroyd, Dead Art Magazine — 2020
- “Kickers Class of 50”, Kickers — 2020
- “Conor Murgatroyd wins £1,500 Knights of the Round Table Award at Summer Shows 2016”, University of the Arts London — Chelsea College of Arts — 2017
- Conor Murgatroyd — Creative Living studio visit, Goodhood