Featured Artist
Cara Murphy
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Cara is a practicing silversmith living in N. Ireland who uses traditional silversmithing techniques to create functional silver tableware. Through the work she aims to question the formal boundaries of functional silver and aims to stimulate the imagination of the user by playing with context, scale and form, and its relation to function. Cara has been an associate lecturer in Fine and Applied Arts at the University of Ulster since 1994. She has been a member of the Association of British Designer Silversmiths since 1996 and an elected committee member since 2002.
Cara received a First Class Honours in Silversmithing and Jewellery from the Glasgow School of Art in 1992, and completed an MA in silversmithing at the Royal College of Art, London, in 1994.
During her career Cara has won several awards. She works mainly to commission and exhibits her silverware internationally. Her work is included in private and public collections including the Ulster Museum, Belfast; The Shipley Art Gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne; the Aberdeen Art Gallery; and the Royal College of Art, London. Her work was received by the Arts Council an Chomhairle Ealaíon in 2001 from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland to celebrate it's 50th anniversary and 25 years of North/South co-operation.
Artist's Statement:
Cara's work is predominately silver tableware. The work is sculptural in form aiming to stimulate the imagination of the user by playing with context, scale and form, and it's relation to function. The work investigates an applied art approach to product design which challenges the user yet is highly functional. She has established a specialist knowledge of salt and pepper grinders by investigating the interaction and integration of silver with other materials.
Cara's interest lies in questioning the formal boundaries of functional silver tableware, creating works such as Rolling Teapot, and "Growth", a series of six forged spoons set in stone. Cara believes there is no better open display case than that of a dining table where one has a captive audience. Using this environment Cara uses the space to create a landscape, challenging the user to interact and question the precious metal objects.
Home Page Image: Cara Murphy, Gathered Lava. Photographer: David Pauley.
For more information visit: www.caramurphy.com
