Statement:

I started painting in my hometown of Portland, Oregon and have been painting bizarre, contemporary surrealist art for over 10 years. My paintings aim to shock viewers into bypassing their normal associations and experience a non-rational awareness of limiting beliefs and preconceptions.

When I was studying classical realism in Florence, Italy and theology on the Mediterranean island of Malta, I focused mainly on challenging Christianity. Now that I live in Taiwan, my work plays more with Eastern religions, post-modernism, globalization and personal identity.

Painting is one way I express my continued exploration of the impact beliefs have on society and civilization, and draw attention to the potential of re-evaluating our more dearly held convictions. As I finish my PhD in Comparative Religious Literature, I will also be releasing several books which explore similar issues.

Recently I’ve had the honor of being represented by several excellent galleries in Taiwan, as well as praise from several national newspapers.

See more at: www.derekmurphyart.com, or use the flash gallery below – please share it if you like it!