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A weathered steel and bronze sculpture by Jim Murray installed in a coastal gallery interior, photographed as documentation

Jim Murray Studio · Carmel-by-the-Sea

Jim Murray

Contemporary fine art shaped by coastal light, weathered steel, and four decades of studio practice.

Studio Practice

On the work, in the artist's own words.

The work begins with the coast — the long horizontal light that arrives at the studio each afternoon, the way salt air oxidizes steel into something closer to memory than material. For more than four decades I have built pieces in conversation with that light: large-scale sculptures in weathered and forged steel, painted panels that hold the temperature of the Pacific at dusk, and quiet objects meant to live in rooms that think slowly.

I work with a small atelier of four in Carmel-by-the-Sea. We fabricate, finish, crate, and install from a single working studio, and every piece is documented, signed, and recorded in the catalogue raisonné. Nothing leaves the studio without provenance on file.

— Jim Murray, Carmel-by-the-Sea, 2024

Index

Selected Works

Recent pieces from the studio, 2019–2024. Each work is documented and available for private viewing by appointment. Full catalogue and acquisition details on request.

  1. Forged weathered steel column sculpture, standing approximately eleven feet

    Tideline Column No. 4

    2023Weathered steel, patinated bronze132 × 28 × 24 in

  2. Horizontal painted panel in muted coastal tones, oil and pigment on linen

    Pacific Light, March

    2022Oil and pigment on linen72 × 60 in

  3. Anvil Field

    2021Forged steel, blackened iron, patinated bronze84 × 24 × 18 in

  4. Freestanding patinated bronze sculpture on a low steel plinth

    Quiet Marker (Study)

    2019Patinated bronze, forged steel base48 × 14 × 12 in

In Collections & On Record

Where the work lives.

  • 120 Verified private & corporate collections across 14 countries
  • 3 Permanent museum collections — Monterey, Crocker, Tucson
  • 47 Major commissions completed, 2010–2024
  • 43 Years of continuous studio practice since 1981

Selected Institutional & Corporate Holdings

  • Monterey Museum of Art
  • Crocker Art Museum
  • Tucson Museum of Art
  • Four Seasons Hotels (commissioned installations)
  • Mayo Clinic (commissioned installations)
  • U.S. Embassy, Lisbon (commissioned installation)

Press & Editorial Features

  • American Art Collector — “20 Sculptors to Watch,” 2018
  • Southwest Art Magazine — cover feature, March 2022
  • Architectural Digest — studio profile
  • National Sculpture Society — Patron Award, 2023

On Record

Three lines of provenance worth keeping on file.

  1. 01

    Forty-three years on a single practice.

    BFA, San Francisco Art Institute, Class of 1980. First solo exhibition at Hackett-Freedman Gallery, San Francisco, 1981. Continuous studio practice in Carmel-by-the-Sea ever since — studied directly under Nathan Oliveira and Manuel Neri, and an active member of the International Sculpture Center since 1996.

  2. 02

    Catalogue raisonné & lifetime authenticity.

    Every documented work is signed, recorded, and entered in the published catalogue raisonné, updated in 2024. Each piece ships with a lifetime authenticity guarantee. Documented works have shown an average secondary-market appreciation of 34% over the past decade.

  3. 03

    A working atelier, open by appointment.

    The studio at Lincoln Lane in Carmel-by-the-Sea is open for private viewing six days a week, by appointment. A team of four assistants handles fabrication, crating, and installation logistics for collectors, consultants, and architectural projects ranging from 24 inches to 14 feet.

Private Inquiry

Inquire About Available Work

Private viewings, acquisition details, commissions, and curatorial briefs are handled directly through the studio. Visits to the Carmel atelier are by appointment, six days a week.