EDUCATION
School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, Dean's Scholarship, MFA, 2018
Co-Active Training Institute (CTI), London, UK, Professional Coaching Training, Certification & Leadership Programs, 2011-2013
School of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Boston, MA, Attended Diploma Program, 1986-1991
Saint Mary's College, BFA, Notre Dame, IN, 1979
TEACHING/LECTURES
Women Artists Connect online courses and community, Creator and Host, 2024-ongoing
School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Adult Continuing Education, Chicago, IL, 2017-Present
Murphy Spicer • Artist Coach, Courses, Online, 2020-present
Virginia Commonwealth University, Art Foundations Program, Richmond, VA, 2018-2021
School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Contemporary Practices, Chicago, IL, 2016-2017
The University of the West of England, Drawing, Bristol, UK, 2010-2012
Art Institute of Boston, MFA Program Mentor, Boston, MA, 2008
Institute of Contemporary Art Boston, Drawing Course, Boston, MA, 2003
Visiting Artist
Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, IN, 2019
Camberwell College of Arts/University of the Arts London, Drawing, London, UK, 2015
The University of the West of England, Architecture, Bristol, UK, 2013
School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Drawing, Boston, MA, 2008
Memphis College of Art Gallery, Memphis College of Art, Memphis, TN, 2004
Atlanta College of Art Gallery, Atlanta College of Art, Atlanta, GA, 2003
New England School of Art and Design, Boston, MA, 2003
COACHING
Professional Certified Coach (PCC), International Coaching Federation, 1:1 Coaching & Courses
Murphy Spicer • Artist Coach, Bath and London, UK, and Charlottesville, Virginia, 2010-2014/2020-Ongoing
EXHIBITIONS
Solo Exhibitions
Page Bond Gallery, Some of the 100 Things, Richmond, Virginia, 2020 (catalog)
Hammes Gallery, Saint Mary’s College, The New Brag Paintings, Notre Dame, Indiana, 2019
Page Bond Gallery, Hiding in Plain Sight, Richmond, Virginia, 2017
Page Bond Gallery, Finding Shapes as a Way of Orienting Oneself, Richmond, Virginia, 2016
RaumX London, more than momentary: ENJOY, London, UK, 2015 (book)
Carroll and Sons, Disrupted Drawings, Boston, MA, 2015
18m Salon, The Shapes in this Place, Berlin, Germany, 2012 (catalog)
Carroll and Sons, Biking in Berlin, Boston, MA, 2012
RoosArts Gallery, re:location, Rosendale, NY, 2011
University of Maine Museum of Art, Hanging Drawings, Bangor, Maine, 2011
Bernard Toale Gallery, Provisional, Boston, MA, 2007
Bernard Toale Gallery, Poured Tape Drawings, Boston, MA 2007
Bernard Toale Gallery, Cardboard Actions, Boston, MA, 2006
Art Complex Museum, Nancy Murphy Spicer, Duxbury, MA, 2004
Bernard Toale Gallery, New Drawings, Boston, MA, 2004
Curatorial Projects
Site Gallery, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Making Out, Chicago, IL, 2017
Co-curated group exhibition including a collaborative, participatory installation
RaumX London, more than momentary: ENJOY, London, UK, 2015
Created participatory, a curatorial project engaging 24 international participants
faethm, Charlottesville, VA, 2015
Co-curated multi-disciplinary salon
Spike Island Open Studios 2009, For Real, Bristol, UK, 2009
A curated exhibition bringing together works by five US and five UK artists
Selected Group Exhibitions
Wavelength Space, Femme Vitale, Chatanooga, TN, 2021
Page Bond Gallery, Wonder Women, Richmond, VA, 2021
Sullivan Galleries, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Low-Residency MFA Thesis Exhibition, 2018
Site Gallery, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Making Out, Chicago, IL, 2017
Page Bond Gallery, Summer Exhibition, Richmond, VA, 2017
Studio Voltaire Open Studios, SHOP, London, UK, 2016, curated by Andy Parker
Mills Gallery, Boston Center for the Arts, Feelers: Boston Drawing Show, Boston, MA, 2015, curated by Susan Metrican
University of New Hampshire Museum of Art, The Physicality of Color, Durham, NH, 2015
Middlesex School, Place Value, Concord, MA, 2014, curated by Meg Alexander
Salve Regina University, Locating Place, Newport, RI, 2012
Wimbledon College of Art, Thinking Through Drawing, interdisciplinary symposium, London, UK, 2012
Spike Island Test Space, Bristol Diving School Curatorial Exercise #1, Bristol, UK, 2012, curated by Tom Prater
Chapter, Ubersong, Cardiff, Wales, 2011, (performance), curated by Yvonne Buchheim
RoosArts, Mark Paper Scissors, Rosendale, New York, 2010, curated by Heige Kim
Boston University 808 Gallery, Traces and Places, Boston, MA, 2010, curated by Lynne Cooney
Brattleboro Museum, Drawing Itself: A Survey of Contemporary Practice, Brattleboro, VT, 2010
Feature, Inc., Power to the People, New York, NY, 2010
VIVID, The Act of Drawing, Birmingham, UK, 2009, curated by Kaye Winwood
Mills Gallery, Boston Center for the Arts, Drawings That Work, Boston, MA, 2009
Spike Island Open Studios, For Real, Bristol, UK, 2009, curated by Nancy Murphy Spicer
Kunstraum Kreuzberg/Bethanien, Anonymous Drawings #9, Berlin, Germany, 2008
Montserrat College of Art, Many Kinds of Nothing, Beverly, MA, 2008, curated by Shana Dumont (catalog)
Mills Gallery, Boston Center for the Arts, 20th Drawing Show, Boston, MA, 2007
Barbara Krakow Gallery, Annual AIDS Benefit Exhibition, Boston, MA 2005, 2006
Bernard Toale Gallery, Chris Martin, Boston, MA, 2006, curated by Chris Martin
Nave Gallery, 2005 Somerville Arts Council Grant Winners Show, Somerville, MA, 2005
Green Street Gallery, 150 x 150, Jamaica Plain, MA, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006
Memphis College of Art, Seamless, Memphis, TN, 2004, curated by Cynthia Thompson (catalog)
Tufts University, Tufts First Annual, Medford, MA, 2004, curated by Amy Schlegel
Fitchburg Art Museum, New England/New Talent, Fitchburg, MA, 2004, curated by Kristina Durocher
Mills Gallery, Boston Center for the Arts, 18th Boston Drawing Show, Boston, MA, 2004, curated by Raphaela Platow
Forest Hills Educational Trust, The Four Elements, Boston, MA, 2003, curated by James Hull, Nick Capasso
Atlanta College of Art Gallery, Flat Not Flat, Atlanta, GA, 2003, curated by Lisa Fischman
Brickbottom Gallery, Surrounded, Somerville, MA, 2003
Green Street Gallery, Chris Nau and Nancy Murphy Spicer, Jamaica Plain, MA, 2002, curated by James Hull
Bernard Toale Gallery, The Drawing Show, Boston, MA, 2001, curated by James Hull & Bernie Toale
Mills Gallery, Boston Center for the Arts, 17th Boston Drawing Show, Boston, MA, 2001, curated by Bill Arning
Somerville Museum, 2001 Somerville Arts Council Grant Winners Show, Somerville, MA, 2001
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
"There is a tremendous openness to the progression of life in these works as Murphy Spicer dutifully, carefully, records the world before her.”
Michael Royce, Essay for Some of the 100 Things Exhibition Catalog, Page Bond Gallery, Richmond VA
"Like the nerd crowned prom queen, Murphy Spicer’s works glory in the awkwardness of it all."
Cate McQuaid, The Boston Globe
“Murphy Spicer makes work that is visually alluring, cerebral, all the while being provocatively casual."
Shana Dumont Garr, New American Paintings blog
“Somewhere indefinable between painting, sculpture, and drawing resides Nancy Murphy Spicer's Drawing Objects.”
Shawn Hill, South End News
Some of the 100 Things Exhibition Catalog, 2020, Essay by Michael Royce
The New Brag Catalog, 2018, Artists Statement
New American Paintings Blog, July 2015, Nancy Murphy Spicer's Disrupted Drawings, Shana Dumont Garr
Boston Globe, Boston, MA, July 28, 2015, Depictions and Disruptions, Cate McQuaid
Art New England, March/April 2015, The Physicality of Color, Christopher Volpe
Boston Globe, Boston, MA, April 17, 2014, Inspired by details of a place, Cate McQuaid
Zitty Berlin, Der Tagesspiegel, July 27, 2012, Tagestipps
Boston Globe Magazine, June 16, 2012, 10 Contemporary works to see now, Cate McQuaid
Biking in Berlin catalog, Essay by Karin Lelonek, 2012
Boston Globe, December 24, 2008, Top Ten Shows of 2008, Cate McQuaid
Art New England, December/January 2007/08, Spotlight Review, David Raymond
Boston Globe, October 25, 2008, 'Nothing is happening: Minimalist works help provoke a meditative state,' Cate McQuaid
bigredandshiny.com, December 23, 2007, Drawing the Line at Mills Gallery, David Avruch
Many Kinds of Nothing catalog, Montserrat College of Art, Beverly, Massachusetts, 2008
Boston Globe, December 20, 2007, Drawing Show Works Around the Edges, Cate McQuaid
20th Drawing Show catalog, Mills Gallery, Boston Center for the Arts, essay by Maria Magdalena Campos Pons
meganandmurray.com, September 24, 2007, Nancy Murphy Spicer at Bernard Toale Gallery, Megan McMillan
Boston Globe, September 13, 2007, A Touch with Abstraction, Cate McQuaid
Art Papers, January/February 2005, Review of ‘Seamless’, David Hall
Number Magazine, Winter 2005, ‘Seamless’, Paul Behnke
Memphis Commercial Appeal, October 15, 2004, ‘Seamless’ a model of beauty, Frederic Koeppel
Seamless brochure, Memphis College of Art, 2004, essay by Cynthia Thompson
Boston Globe, July 11, 2004, Pretty, vacant: High-quality local work gets showcase at Tufts, Cate McQuaid
Boston Phoenix, March 5, 2004, Goodies at the DeCordova and the Fitchburg, C. Millis
New England/New Talent catalog, Fitchburg Art Museum, February 2004
Boston Globe, February 1, 2004, At 'The Drawing Show,' works literally leap off the page, Cate McQuaid
South End News, January 22, 2004, A painterly touch in BCA’s Drawing Show, Shawn Hill
Art New England, November/December 2003, Regional Reviews, Lauren O’Neal
Art Papers, November/December 2003, Reviews, Robin Bernat
Sculpture Magazine, September/October 2003, Review, Marty Carlock
Art New England, June/July 2003, Regional Reviews, Shawn Hill
Flat Not Flat brochure, Atlanta College of Art, May 2003, essay by Lisa Fischman
Boston Globe, January 2002, Critic’s Pick, Brickbottom Gallery show
Boston Globe, December 29, 2002, Best of 2002, Cate McQuaid
ArtsMedia, September 5, 2002, Gallery Section, Rachel Strutt
Boston Globe, August 23, 2002, Some Edgy Artists Play with Space, Cate McQuaid
Boston Globe, August 2002, Critic’s Pick, Green Street Gallery show
GRANTS/AWARDS
Anonymous Was A Woman Grant, 2020
Virginia Commonwealth University (VCUarts) Adjunct Faculty Research Grant, 2020
New American Paintings MFA Annual, No. 141, 2019
Virginia Commonwealth University (VCUarts) Adjunct Faculty Research Grant, 2018
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Dean's Scholarship, Chicago, IL, 2016-2018
American Association of University Women (AAUW), Career Development Grant, 2017
Ox-Bow Artists Residency, Merit Scholarship, Saugatuck, MI, 2017
Spike Associates, Venice Biennale Travel Grant, Venice, Italy, 2011
Spike Associates, Berlin Residency Grant, Berlin, Germany, 2010
Spike Associates, Curatorial Project Funding Grant, For Real exhibition, Bristol, UK, 2009
Boston Globe, Ten Best Shows of 2008, (Montserrat College of Art exhibition), 2008
Institute of Contemporary Art Boston, ICA Foster Prize Finalist, Boston, MA, 2008
Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, Artist’s Resource Trust Grant, 2006
Somerville Arts Council, Artists Fellowship, Somerville, MA, 2001 and 2005
International Art Critics Association, Second Place. Best Show in an Alternative Space, 2004
Boston Globe, Ten Best Shows of 2002, (Green Street Gallery exhibition), 2002
Professional Development Grant, Massachusetts Cultural Council, Boston, MA, 2001
WRITING
Art Institute of Chicago exhibition book
Material Meanings: Selections from the Constance R. Caplan Collection Exhibition
Commissioned Essay on Cy Twombly's On Returning from Tonnicoda, 2020
The New Brag: Erasure and Co-Constitution of Self
MFA Thesis, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, 2018
WHAT WAS FOUND: The Archive Project
104-page artists book surveying 20 years of practice, 2018
The New Brag Paintings
32-page artists book including all paintings in the series
along with text by the artist and the subjects of the paintings, 2018
RESIDENCIES
Chicago Self-Designed Painting Residency, Chicago, IL, 2019
Watching Water Research Residencies, Portreath, Cornwall, UK, 2010-2014
Spike Associates, Berlin, Germany, 2010
Bath Storefront Residency, Bath, England, 2009
Bernard Toale Gallery, After Hours Residency, Boston, MA, 2005-2007
Memphis College of Art Gallery, Memphis College of Art, Memphis, TN, 2004
Atlanta College of Art Gallery, Atlanta College of Art, Atlanta, GA, 2003
STUDIOS
Charlottesville Home Studio, Charlottesville, VA, 2018-present
Mana Contemporary, Chicago, IL, 2017-2018
Skybox Studios, Chicago, IL, 2016-2017
Coca-Cola Bottling Works, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA, 2014-2016
Space Studios, London, UK, 2012-2014
Spike Island Studios, Bristol, UK, 2010-2012
BV Studios, Bristol, UK, 2009-2010
Vernon Street Studios, Somerville, MA, 1999-2008
COLLECTIONS
Work held in private collections in the US, UK, Germany, and Japan
Joan Flasch Artists' Book Collection at School of the Art Institute of Chicago
REPRESENTED BY
Bond Millen Gallery, Richmond, VA