Thomas Murray Lives and works in New Jersey with his wife, partner, and fellow artist Donna Mason Sweigart. They relocated from the US/ Mexico border of South Texas. Thomas earned his MFA at the University of New Mexico in 2003. He works primarily in oil paint, with forays into sound, music composition, performance, and digital video. Thomas studied in Florence, Italy, the birthplace of Renaissance painting. They frequently collaborate on art installations and performance. Residencies include Artestudio Ginestrella in Assisi, Italy and was recently invited to return to Arquetopia in Puebla, Mexico, for an honorary artists residency.
His work is deeply personal. Gleaned from current political events, he works on the edge of recognition, time, and the function of art within current and past political structure. Thomas appropriates archetypal imagery, such as the Garden of Eden to explore the relations of globalization and a subtle critique of the viewer/ consumer and our place of subverting and relocating histories.
