August Artist of the Month
Meet Margot Hurley
Margot Hurley was born in Manhattan and moved with her family to Newton, Massachusetts at age 7. In high school, ironically, she did not take a single visual arts class but filled the arts requirement by singing in the chorus and immersing herself in theatre where she performed in nine plays. Excellent academic achievement was very important to her family and Hurley, on her way to an Ivy League college, found herself burned out when she graduated.
With trepidation she attended Dartmouth College. She signed up for Introduction to Drawing freshman year because she “thought it would feel more like summer camp.” She was incredibly fortunate to have visiting professor Susan Jane Walp for her instructor and influencer; “The class was life altering. I learned how to see.” She enjoyed how art challenged both sides of her brain, how she was able to think visually and to problem solve. Quite unexpectedly she became a Studio Art Major and a Women’s and Gender Studies Minor with as many classes as she could take in Art History. “My art became all about feminism.”
After graduating in 2008, Hurley joined her parents in their family business importing French wines. She started out making deliveries and rose to Vice President after her mother, the company founder, passed away. She was happy to work alongside her father as they grieved together. While it was right at the time, after she married, Hurley began to realize that her job was incompatible with the life she wished to lead.
After a year of internal searching, Hurley had made her decision. In January of 2019, she embarked on a career in Art. “I decided that this was my new career and I would pursue it through every possible avenue.” She made a big push to establish an exhibition history to begin building her CV. In 2019, she has work accepted into thirteen juried exhibitions and won awards in six of them.
Hurley is primarily interested in portraiture and has done a series of ten self-portraits in various media including oil, graphite, charcoal and printmaking; “I try to choose the medium that I feel best supports each piece.” About this body of work, Hurley reflects, “they are very psychological and designed to evoke emotion in the viewer.” About painting herself, she notes, “I don’t want to attribute emotions to other people…and I am always available to pose for myself.”
The COVID 19 pandemic gave Hurley another curveball. Her sister had her first baby in Canada and Hurley found herself sheltering in place with the new family. After honing her skills in oil painting, the pandemic gave her some time to pursue other media in art while exhibitions were put on hold. She has never been interested in decorative sculpture but is working on pieces of design with function. In addition to the WSA, she is an active member of the Dedham Art Association, where she now continues virtually in a weekly painting group. She is also doing some private teaching to help keep her career alive.
Hurley is working on building a “cohesive and mature portfolio that reflects what I have decided to say.” Hurley ponders, “my art is very personal; it is about my lived experience as a woman.” Hurley has a lot to say. “Not leaving a genetic legacy, I want to leave my mark on this world through art.”
You can view more of Hurley’s artwork at:
Instagram @margot.hurley