How did you get started as an artist, and what led you to focus on sculpture?
Around the age of ten I visited the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. There were pieces in there that I felt an indescribable connection with, and I knew my place in the world at that moment.
I’ve dabbled in many mediums, but sculpture is what came naturally to me because I always inherently knew what needed to be worked on or “fixed”, without much down time spent overthinking.
Buy D. Edward Murray merch from our online store >>>
How have you evolved as an artist, and what are your current artistic goals?
I think my work has gotten more more “fun” and less “serious” over time.
I have 3 primary goals as an artist at the moment: Some medium to large scale contemporary sculptures are well into development, which will be a surprise when they are released. I’m also working on new lines of gift-sized, small batch produced artwork such as sculpted jewelry boxes. Large public works for downtown Austin are a long term goal.
Your recent face pot sculptures feature expressive human faces, crowned by living succulent plants. What drew you to succulents?
They look like plants from an alien planet, and they come in such strange and beautiful forms. They are living sculptures; some look like chubby babies or “baby toes”, others look like things out of a Dr. Seuss book, deep sea creatures, or flowers.
Buy D. Edward Murray merch from our online store >>>
Which pieces are you most proud of as an artist, and what makes them special?
The more unique my path is, the more pride I have in it. Materials, techniques, concepts…. There is a ton of trial and error of course, but that’s what does it for me.
How do you approach creating new work?
New ideas have never been a problem—deciding on which to pursue is another matter. I try find an overlap between what inspires me, and what the people of my community seem to want, and then I get weird.
