| Artist | Jessica Murtagh | Resides | Australia |
| Website | jessicamurtagh.com.au | Medium | Blown Glass |
| Follow the Artist | jessica.murtagh@hotmail.com | ||
| Themes | Artefacts Ancient history Technology Mythology Pop culture Archeology History |
About the artist
Jessica Murtagh is a South Australian glass artist whose practice combines traditional glassblowing with illustration. She uses a modern take on the ancient style of glass carving called cameo glass, employing illustration software and industrial sandcarving processes to engrave glass. She holds a Master of Design (Contemporary Art) from the University of South Australia. Working primarily with blown glass, Jessica uses sandcarving and engraving to create intricate imagery and layered narratives on vessel forms that range from sculptural to functional.
She has exhibited widely across Australia and internationally, including presentations in Milan, Italy, and Auckland, New Zealand. Her work has featured in major exhibitions and prizes such as the 2023 NGV Triennial, and she was awarded Second Prize in the inaugural Make Award. Her pieces are held in several significant public collections, including the National Gallery of Victoria, the Powerhouse Museum, and Geelong Gallery.
Jessica Murtagh is the 2nd Prize Winner of Yasha Young Projects Sculpture Award, Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize 2025
Artwork Themes & Subject Matter
Jessica Murtagh’s work explores themes of history, femininity, nature, and everyday life, drawing inspiration from classical artefacts, ancient ceramics and decorative movements such as Art Nouveau. A lifelong fascination with botany, ancient relics, and museum collections informs much of her imagery, from romantic depictions of flora to vignettes of contemporary life imagined as future artefacts.
Jessica’s narrative work is deeply inspired by antiquities from past societies, particularly those of the ancient Athenians. These artefacts, crafted from stone, ceramic and glass, offer glimpses into past cultures, from mythic scenes and godly deeds to tableaus of the everyday. Illustrations of the mundane and domestic are of particular influence, informing her ongoing exploration of how ordinary moments become enduring symbols of culture. Through this lens, Jessica reflects on what stories our own society might one day leave behind and how objects can preserve both beauty and narrative across time.
Press
Jessica’s sculptures have been featured notable magazines and online sources including New Glass Review 44, 42 & 41, Art Monthly Australia, Art Gallery of Western Australia, National Gallery of Victoria Magazine.
Upcoming Exhibitions
| When | Exhibition | Gallery |
| February 2026 | Group exhibition: “Melbourne Art Fair” | Martin Brown Contemporary Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| August 2026 | Group exhibition: “40 years – 40 things” | Jamfactory Adelaide, South Australia, Australia |
CV
Education
2023
Master of Design (Contemporary Art), University of South Australia, Australia
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2025
Jessica Murtagh, Maunsell Wickes Gallery, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
2024
Afterimages of familiar tales, Grainger Gallery, Canberra, ACT, Australia
What will remain, The David Roche Foundation Gallery and Museum, Adelaide, South Australia
2023
Jessica Murtagh, Maunsell Wickes Gallery, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Collective histories in blue, Grainger Gallery, Canberra, ACT, Australia
Selected Group Exhibitions
2025
Interior Landscapes, MARS Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
Flower Bomb, Wondergound, Barossa Valley, Australia
Pour, Masterworks Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
She paints her, MARS Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
2024
Gathering Light, JamFactory, Adelaide, Australia
2023
National Gallery of Victoria Triennial, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia
FOCUS, Melbourne Design Fair (National Gallery of Victoria), Melbourne, Australia
Net Worth, Canberra Glassworks, Canberra, Australia
2022
Trust: A generous legacy, Hamilton Regional Gallery, Hamilton, Australia
2022
Glass Chrysalis, Wagga Wagga Art Gallery, Wagga Wagga, Australia
Melbourne Design Fair, Craft Victoria, Melbourne, Australia
2021
Shaped, Craft Victoria, Melbourne, Australia
Future Inheritance: 20 Speculative objects for a time to come, Melbourne Design Week, Melbourne, Australia
