‘Gradients of Growth’: View Photos From Deirdre Murphy's Art Exhibition and Residency

This summer, Deirdre Murphy, assistant teaching professor of art, became the Lower Merion Conservancy’s inaugural Climate Action artist-in-residence. As part of her long-term residency, Murphy hosted “Gradients of Growth,” an exhibition that included three different mediums—painting, printmaking and sculpture—and focused on “ecological hope and environmental healing” at the Chimaera Gallery in Philadelphia.

Murphy’s paintings, inspired by tree hollows found during her residency, display a bird’s-eye view from within the cavities, while her print series was influenced by Lehigh’s Trembley Herbarium collection.

‘Gradients of Growth’ by Lehigh University on Exposure

In addition to the exhibition, Murphy and Robert Booth, professor of earth and environmental sciences, teamed up to show the importance of planting native pollinator gardens to mitigate climate change and increase biodiversity on a local level. Their work was aided by a Lehigh Collaborative Research Opportunity (CORE) Grant.