Joel Taylor Murnan (b. 1997, Grass Valley, CA) pursued his education and obtained a B.F.A. from California College of the Arts and holds an M.F.A in Studio Art from U.C. Davis. Murnan’s work explores themes of land and control. Drawing inspiration from his childhood memories of a pastoral landscape in Northern California, he uses various materials like wood, metal, hydrocal, epoxy clay, and found objects within his work. Murnan’s sculptures capture the mood of the terrain that offers a unique perspective on our relationship with the land.

Monsters are vessels, containing the distilled fears of the cultures and landscapes from which they arise. The work presented examines how monsters are formed by the elements of a particular time or place. This centuries-old phenomenon is channeled into sculpture that addresses the current human-ecological relationship and how these daemons can serve as a warning for a new age.

The sculptures in this body of work are constructed from a collection of found objects, incorporating elements such as rotting wood, mechanical tools, and other pieces of a lost and discarded past. These components decompose and reunite, and become endowed with life. Each component has its own inherent story of how it arrived, now embedded in these sculptures. One can only imagine the very simple or complex voyage behind these objects, but we do know that as each object is placed within the sculpture, a constellation is formed, giving the viewer a small glimpse of place. Together, they create a genius loci or spirit of landscape.

Ecology is intertwined with human intervention. Many species are facing extinction, smoke fills our lungs, and drought is on the horizon. The landscape is in a new state of flux. As catastrophic as these realities may seem, there is an odd beauty in this change. This is a moment of ending and becoming, revealing landscapes not as static, pristine spaces, but as a dynamic system shaped by competing forces that will thrive on the very poison we feed it. Ecology is always adapting and constantly finding new ways to survive. It must not be forgotten that everything is a dance of particles in constant motion.

Monsters occupy realms beyond human control, making them potent metaphors for the fragility of the natural world and the consequences of exploitation. When a monster appears, we must tread lightly; they ask us to reconsider our actions and demand respect for the spaces they reside. Through this work, there is a pursuit to understand the interconnectedness with the landscapes inhabited. Monsters, in all their complexity, offer a lens through which we can explore not only fears but also hopes for a more harmonious relationship with the world around us. They demand that we look at the other and the different, and in the process remake ourselves.

Awards/Grants/Scholarships

2025 Mary Lou Osborn Award, UC Davis, Davis, CA

2024 UC Davis Tropical Lab Candidate, UC Davis, Davis, CA

2020 CCA Scholarship, California College of the Arts, Oakland, CA

2020 Faculty Honors Scholarship, California College of the Arts, Oakland, CA

2019 Portfolio Achievement, San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA

2019 Hallberg Merit Award, Sierra College, Rocklin, CA

2019 Friends of the Library Award, Sierra College, Rocklin, CA

Residencies

2024 Tropical Lab 2024: Weather, LASALLE, Singapore

Exhibitions

2025 Faculty Show, Sierra College Gallery, Grass Valley, CA

2025 Soft Land, Public Land, Sacramento, CA

2025 Soft Landing, Maria Manetti Shrem Museum, Davis, CA

2025 Soft Power, 120710 Gallery, Berkeley, CA

2025    Small Works, STRATA Gallery, Santa Fe, NM

2024    Tropical Lab: Weather, LASALLE, Singapore

2024    Minor Works, The Van Gallery, Davis, CA

2024    Digital Disruption, Pence Gallery, Davis, CA

2024    Body//Self, UC Davis, Davis, CA

2022 Open House Fall, Headlands Center for the Arts, Sausalito, CA

2022 Open House Summer II, Headlands Center for the Arts, Sausalito, CA

2022 Solo Exhibition, Gold Vibe Kombucha, Grass Valley, CA

2020 Essence, Group Exhibition, Diego Rivera Gallery, San Francisco, CA

2020 Solo Exhibition, West Wall Gallery, San Francisco, CA

2020 Group Exhibition, Blueline Arts Gallery, Roseville, CA

2019 Hallberg Merit Exhibition, Ridley Gallery, Sierra College, Rocklin, CA

Education

2025 MFA, Art Studio, University of Davis, Davis, CA

2021 BFA with High Distinction, Sculpture, California College of the Arts, Oakland, CA

2020 Intended BFA, Sculpture, San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA

2018 BFA to transfer, Studio Arts, Sierra College, Rocklin, CA

Bibliography

Sierra College Press, “Sierra Journal,” June 26th, 2019.

Strata Gallery, “Small Works,” January 10th, 2025.

Dart Magazine, “Joel Murnan and his Monsters,” April 25th, 2025.

Dart Magazine, “Drifting: Art Studio Graduate Thesis,” June 5th, 2025.