Dawn Murtaugh | As Above, So Below, and In-between

Dawn Murtaugh’s exhibit, “As Above, So Below, and In Between,” is a solo show concentrated on sustainability and beautifying the world through the magic 3 R’s, Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. She only uses recycled fabric and repurposes discarded textiles.  The way she paints with fabric, challenging herself with each new piece, is inspiring.  Murtaugh’s vision behind her work reminds me of the artist Tara Donovan in the way she explores the transformative effects of accumulation, especially in Murtaugh’s cosmic pieces, which contain fabric confetti held together by a mesh layer intricately sewn in place. As one of SIU’s pillars, sustainability is brought to the forefront in a thoughtful and creative way. This comes at an opportune time as we have the “Fuller Futures | Art and Artifacts” exhibit shown in Study gallery concurrently, which celebrates Buckminster Fuller and all he inspired, touching heavily on sustainability and the environment. Bucky wanted “to make the world work for 100% of humanity.” Part of that vision includes creative problem-solving, like how Murtaugh does by recycling fabric in our age of fast fashion.

Dawn C. Murtaugh, an inhabitant of several Midwest states surrounding Lake Michigan, is an avid space, weather, tree, and water watcher. With a degree in art from St. Xavier College in 1972, she has been involved in a wide variety of academic, community, and personal exploration of art media. Since 2010, an introduction to traditional quilting soon led to a self-taught journey into contemporary art quilting.

She was one of 34 Indiana artists receiving a grant to participate in “On- Ramp 2019” Creative Entrepreneur Course and a grant for her first large solo show, Jean Therapy, at the Evansville Arts Council gallery in Evansville, Indiana. In 2020-2021, Murtaugh exhibited at an ON Ramp Regional show at the Indianapolis Central Library in Indianapolis, Indiana. This was followed by a grant from the Indiana Arts Commission, “On Ramp 2.0 Next Steps for your creative career”, in 2022.

She was an active member of the former Evansville Arts Council in Evansville, IN, where she was selected into over twenty juried exhibitions. Murtaugh has also been selected for shows juried at the Preston Arts Center Gallery, Mid-States Art Exhibits, and the Audubon Museum in Henderson, KY, with a few awards. In 2025, she was a juror for the Arts Council show “Please Touch the Art”. Her work is also shown at the New Harmony Gallery of Contemporary Art in New Harmony, IN.

As a member of SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates) since 2016, Murtaugh has participated in workshops, an international traveling show, and a collaborative show. She created a visual version of the children’s whispered game of Telephone that has now been used in SAQA regional groups across the country.