Jan Murphy Gallery

Contemporary Art Hub in Historic Fortitude Valley

Jan Murphy Gallery sits at the centre of Fortitude Valley, one of Queensland's most active cultural and creative precincts. The gallery has established itself as a significant venue for contemporary Australian art, representing artists working across painting, sculpture, and mixed media. It shows work from artists at different stages of their careers, giving both established and emerging practitioners a platform within the national and international contemporary art scene.

The gallery's location in Fortitude Valley connects it directly to Brisbane's artistic community, drawing collectors, artists, and art lovers to a neighbourhood packed with galleries, studios, cafés, and creative spaces. It's a natural destination for anyone interested in exploring contemporary Australian art in Queensland and a respected player in the broader Australian gallery scene.

A Diverse Roster of Contemporary Artists

Jan Murphy Gallery works with artists like Ben Quilty, Heidi Yardley, Linde Ivimey, James Guppy, Celia Gullett, Adam Pyett, Robert Malherbe, Richard Lewer, Natasha Bieniek, and Mark Tweedie. The roster spans a lot of different styles. You'll see abstract work, expressionism, figurative painting, landscape, portraiture, and sculpture. The gallery seems genuinely interested in artists who push things and aren't afraid to tackle difficult ideas in their practice.

The artists explore memory, identity, spirituality, nature, and the unconscious in various ways. Some have made waves outside the gallery too. Drew Connor Holland, who shows with Jan Murphy Gallery, won the People's Choice Award at the Blake Art Prize recently, which is the 69th edition of one of Australia's longest-running contemporary art awards. That kind of result says something about the gallery's ability to back artists whose work actually connects with people.

What's on at the Gallery

The gallery runs a steady program of exhibitions throughout the year, rotating new work through the Brisbane space. Recent shows have included Ben Quilty's 'The River' (May, June 2026), followed by concurrent exhibitions from Linde Ivimey ('I will remember you') and Heidi Yardley ('Trick of the light') in June and July 2026. This keeps things fresh for collectors and regular visitors, while also giving artists the gallery represents a chance to show new pieces or reconnect with past ones. The Jan Murphy Gallery also keeps a range of works in stock and regularly updates its news section with artist announcements, exhibition details, and professional milestones.

The gallery takes care with how it presents each show, making sure the hanging and overall feel of the space suits the work on display. You'll find a mix of solo shows from established and mid-career artists alongside newer voices, so there's usually something to dig into no matter what you're after.

Sculpture, Painting, and the Stories Materials Hold

A lot of the work on show at Jan Murphy Gallery, Fortitude Valley, QLD 4006, comes down to what materials can tell you. Sculptor Linde Ivimey uses reclaimed and found stuff, bone, fabric, fibres, scraps, and builds with all that accumulated history baked into the final piece. She calls her sculptures 'charms' made through 'accumulation, intuition, and care.' Painter Heidi Yardley pulls imagery from old ephemera and found photographs, then rebuilds and dissolves those familiar forms to question nostalgia and dig out hidden tensions. Both artists care deeply about how materials and histories shift through the making, and that matters. It's the kind of thinking that makes the gallery different from places doing purely decorative or commercial stuff.

The work here asks real questions, intellectually and emotionally, touching on memory, identity, spirituality, and how we treat the environment. You come away from visits with more than just something nice to look at, you've actually had to engage with ideas. Whether it's abstract expressionist painting, figurative work, or assembled sculpture, the artists here make you stop and think harder about what's around you.

Planning Your Visit to Jan Murphy Gallery

Jan Murphy Gallery runs year-round with a steady stream of exhibitions, a rotating line-up of artists, and works available from storage. Their website covers current and upcoming shows, info on the artists they work with, and gallery news. Want to get a first look at new pieces or talk about buying something? You can register your interest in future exhibitions or ring them directly.

The gallery sits in Fortitude Valley, which is handy if you're already checking out Brisbane's inner north. No matter if you're a collector of established pieces, just getting into contemporary art, or just keen to see what's going on in the Australian art scene, the place is set up to welcome you. Jump on their mailing list if you want to stay in the loop about shows, artist updates, and events as they come up.