We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Eric Murphy. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Eric below.

Eric, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

The most meaningful projects I worked on are my Oakland International shirts and Oakland AllStars mix media artwork. For the Oakland International shirts, It started with a travel exhibit I managed between Oakland, Ca. and our sister city of Fukuoka, Japan in the summer of 2012. We were celebrating our 50th Anniversary and I had an Oakland artist, Emmy Award winner, James Gayles and my artist/photographer from Fukuoka, Japan, Hiroko To. It was during this time I first learned how to say Oakland in another language after taking a Japanese (Nihongo) class at Laney College in 2011. This later led me to want to know how to say Oakland in other languages. I also love history, especially Oakland history and languages made the perfect marriage for this project.

In 2019, I started with my first shirt, Oakland in Japanese – Okurando honoring our sister city of Fukuoka, Japan. I later ran into an Ethiopian model from my fashion photography days that had an Amharic (Ethiopian language) tattoo on her arm. Her and her parents translated Oakland in Amharic for me which became the second shirt I created in 2019. Eventually I created other Oakland shirts in other languages with translators. History came into play as I worked on my Oakland in Spanish shirts. As most people know, Oakland in Spanish is just Oakland unless you break the words up, then it is Tierra de Roble – Land of Oaks, which I believe the first Mayor of Oakland first called it. I wanted something more meaning than just a translation and design so I started researching who were the first people to move to Oakland from Mexico. Dominga “Dominguita” Velasco came up right away. Dominga born in 1901 was an activist and restaurant owner that came to West Oakland in the 20s. She passed away at the age of 114 in 2015 being on record the 8th longest living person in the world and the longest living woman in the State of California and one of Mexico’s longest living super-centenarians. This information gave me excitement as I gained knowledge of this Oakland/California/Mexico history that brought my design to life with meaning. The shirt incorporated the Mexican flag, a flier of her recipe from her restaurant in West Oakland and a proclamation from the City of Oakland.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I have been an artist since childhood, doing illustrations of my favorite celebrities like Eddie Murphy, Arnold Schwarzenegger, etc. In my early 20s, I began creating collages, mixing found images with my illustrations, and then eventually photographing environmental elements to mix with my sketches in addition to design contracts with clients with this medium. This led me to pursue my passion in photography.

I studied photography at Laney College in Oakland after starting off as an autodidact. I learned black-and-white photography, developing film, and printing in the darkroom. During this time, my sister pursued her career as a fashion designer, and I began to photograph models in her outfits. Her designer friends liked my work and asked me to photograph their designs and models, and eventually, this became my career for about 5 to 7 years as a fashion photographer, which led me to meet Jay Manuel and other members of America’s Next Top Model in the mid-2000s.

In 1999, I started my pursuit as a professional artist working at Pro Arts Gallery in Oakland, CA., a nonprofit organization that has been around since 1974. Starting off as a volunteer, I learned how to curate exhibits and lighting, install artwork, sell artwork, and, of course, handle artwork. From this organization, I was invited to be a curator for a judge at a nearby courthouse, filling each of the juror rooms and lobby with various artists’ work and still making them connect somehow so it was as cohesive as possible. I was with Pro Arts Gallery until 2010, about 11 years.

Before leaving Pro Arts Gallery, I began representing another artist with a classmate at Laney College who introduced me to a photographer, Hiroko To, from Fukuoka, Japan, which has been Oakland, California’s sister city since 1962. After successfully introducing the local art world to her work, I began representing other artists, like Emmy Award-winning artist, James Gayles, Gabriel Navar, Penny Harncharnvej, and Samantha Chundur. I pursued this career further when I left Pro Arts Gallery in 2010. I showcased James Gayles work at Linen Life Gallery in San Leandro, Ca. for about a year or two. In 2012, I learned about Oakland and Fukuoka, Japan’s sister city relationship in time for their big 50th Anniversary planning. I connected with OFSCA (Oakland Fukuoka Sister City Association) to coordinate a traveling exhibit between Oakland and Fukuoka that lasted a few months and involved James Gayles representing Oakland and Hiroko To representing Fukuoka, and my assistant Penny Harncharnvej, who is originally from Thailand, who helped with the student workshops in Japan. Prior to this I took a Japanese (Nihongo) class at Laney College so I can speak the language a little bit. This led to another project I will mention later.

Also in 2012, I collaborated with Joyce Gordon of Joyce Gordon Gallery in Oakland, CA. as the Gallery Curator and became Gallery Director in September 2023 until September 2024 as she retired. I curated a wonderful 20th Anniversary exhibit that included past artists throughout the years, some includes Mel Ramos,Raymond Saunders, Emory Douglas, John Simmons, Bryan Keith Thomas, the late Richard Mayhew, Sibylle Swagger-Reford, actor Robert Redford’s wife who studied a design class with Joyce before opening Joyce’s gallery in 2003 and before marrying Robert Redford.

I now focus on my clients, artists and my artwork at my studio in the Jack London Square area of Oakland inside of Studios 11. https://www.studios11oakland.com/contact
 
My latest series I am working on is called the Oakland Allstars. It is a mixed media, photo and digital based collage portrait of famous community and celebrities you may or may not know what is from Oakland, Ca. or have a strong affiliation with Oakland, Ca. Some examples include our current Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris who was born in Oakland, Ca., actress, Zendaya, Daniella Pineda, Brandon Lee (Bruce Lee’s son), Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker from Star Wars) all who are born in Oakland, Ca. Others subjects include, Andre Ward, Paul Mooney, Dominga Velasco, Van Jones, Bruce Lee, Julia Morgan, Carl Weathers and many more. I am currently working on the person that inspired this series for me, Shemar Moore (Young and the Restless, Criminal Minds, S.W.A.T). It was during his time hosting Soul Train in the early 2000s that he made mention that he was from Oakland, Ca. growing up in the Sobrante Park neighborhood. This was before introducing his guest to the stage that was also from Oakland. All of us viewers were shock with pride when he mentioned it and I began to wonder what other celebrities and famous people are from Oakland, Ca.
You can see the current Oakland Allstars Collection here – https://conta.cc/4cH3Nel

I am most proud of my love for history, especially Oakland history and its connection to the rest of the world and my Oakland International language shirts.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

It begins with understanding that art is an innovation and artists are innovators and motivators. The best way to support artists is to invest in them financially and their work and also share it with their family, friends and colleagues. Art can be a mental and emotional investment as well as a financial investment given that it is one of the few “products” that increase in value based on the artists’ career trajectory and sales. Owning art is also valuable in terms of having a valuable heirloom to pass on to the family and loved ones.

Investing in artists helps society as a whole because it is part of all our lives, defining eras and societal change. Another way to support artists is to remember most are active as working professionals not hobbyists.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

One of the most rewarding aspects of being an artist is – Legacy. This speaks to various artforms whether visual, music, audio or other performance arts. Again it goes back to innovation. Artists create something that impacts society and they get to create a name for themselves that is often over a lifetime. This is most certain when it comes to public art. These temporary or permanent installations leave our mark in history. It is also inspiring when people come out to see your exhibits or an opening as a way to celebrate the artists. This in addition to having your work in patrons’ collections builds up to the legacy of an artist.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.2042gallery.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/2042gallery
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100027199733160

Image Credits

Artwork and photos by Eric Murphy.
Photo by Chizu Sawabe: picture of (Fukuoka, Japan Mayor Sōichirō Takashima and former Oakland, Mayor Libby Schaaf)