Lora Schlesinger Gallery is proud to present Idle, featuring a new series of paintings and drawings by Christopher Murphy. Idle is Murphy’s sixth solo exhibition with the gallery.

Christopher Murphy’s Idle analyzes the dual nature of leisure and idleness, a duality which Franz Kafka identified as the “beginning of all vice, and the crown of all virtue.” Through photorealistic renderings of subjects in various states of leisure, Murphy questions when leisure, tranquil and meditative, transforms into idleness, empty and oblivious.

Murphy’s subjects are reimagined from family photographs found in his own collections, estate sales, and thrift stores, chosen for their intrinsic qualities of candidness, semi-permanence, and immediacy. In these photographs of the past, Murphy searches for subjects that reflect conditions of the human experience: beauty, indolence, sadness, and humor. With this exhibition, Murphy expands his concept of altering the instantaneousness of photography into a laborious rendering experience. In taking months to create detailed drawings and paintings from photographs, he redefines the transitory nature of technology.

Murphy was born in 1977 and grew up in Irvine, CA. His earliest and most lasting influences are the painters Lucien Freud, Antonio López García, and Robert Bechtle. He earned his B.F.A. from Art Center College of Design in 2002, and was awarded the highest honor of graduation with distinction. His work has been reviewed by The Los Angeles Times, Artweek, and Art Papers. In 2012, he was selected as the New American Paintings Reader’s Choice Winner.