Zoe R. Murphy (B. 2002) is a conceptual abstract painter currently concentrating her work on large-scale and signature ‘double-canvas’ works, that follow the ideas and structures of her recent project ‘Restrictive Prompts’. 

Based on her private pre-creation rituals, Restrictive Prompts create the space for a shared idea of taking a variety of contemplative prompts to restrict what you can create, to see what you do create.

Murphy’s work began by restricting how she applied paint onto a surface as well as how little she could use to create a ‘successful’ and interesting body of work. This manifests as Murphy applying paint onto the canvas straight from the tube – like a pencil or pen –designing the directional journey her work’s lines and marks take the viewer around on the surface. 

Restrictive Prompts developed from notes written on studio walls, to a prompt set. Murphy re-visited an old note written from late 2022 when she worked as a portrait painter, that read “Make it as small as possible” and re-developed this into a prompt for an abstract painting. This in turn created a small, monochrome, ‘double-canvas’ painting (‘Make it as small as possible, 2024’). From this, she realised that it is possible to create and use contemplative yet restrictive prompts to create work no matter the artist’s chosen style – a cross-medium and perspective tool. The cards also serve as a useful tool for all artists to use, in order to improve their own work’s identity, as well as substantiate challenges and reflectiveness in one’s practice. 

Zoe R. Murphy’s work itself is a captivating mix of restrictive creation and its own challenging response to abstract work showcasing a display of primal emotions, such as doom, ecstasy, and rage. She utilises a mix of a signature way of displaying work and always encasing double-canvas works inside a frame, trapping these displays of emotion forever.