P H I L I P R O S S M U N R O
ARTIST'S STATEMENT
" Art must ask a question. Introspection and creative dialogue are key.
Studies in engineering, mathematics, design, architecture, psychology, literature and in particular, complex color systems as well as Golden Section are my core precepts. As a graduate of the Ecole Nationale Superiéure des Beaux Arts in Paris and having lived in Europe for a number of years, I believe that my work is that of a Modern & Contemporary Classicist.
Human form figures prominently in my work where encapsulated sentient life experience is spontaneously captured in moments reflecting personal depths. It amazes and astounds me that in our enlightened era that nudity continues to be frequently ostracized. It is the nakedness of our existence that dictates the planet’s course. Raw, intuitive energy resonates at the molecular level and perception inspires reflection of the individual and collective situation. In the current political arena of dichotomies the need for this could not be clearer. And yet my work leans away from ‘shock value’ images in a substantive quest for harmonious meditative, emotional flow and awareness.
Having had an unusual upbringing as first a Skinner Baby, later a Military Cadet and then a life in Paris I have ridden through the world of separation from the herd. It is possibly that which brings me to take a closer look at the perceptions of psyche and emotional balance. Diving into fluid mediums, be they physical or metaphysical, and plunging into the unknown stirs subliminal reactions, sparks, infuses and informs us.
I work in series. Each is an exploration to share. I look at, into and through situations. There is a slightly voyeuristic element in the finished presentation that is not limited to the captured image. The outcome may be similar to that of a ‘metaphrast’, someone who changes prose to verse. In this case recasting real life into changed perceptions of human form and emotional balance. The goal is to inspire and raise the Qi, or energy, of awareness. The outcome is sometimes surreal"
BIO
Philip Ross Munro is a graduate of the Ecole Nationale Superiéure des Beaux Arts in Paris and has a background in engineering from McGill University in Montreal, Canada and digital media from City College in San Francisco, California.
Mr. Munro’s career spans more than forty years. He is currently living and working in West Palm Beach, Florida. He has also lived for extended periods in France, Italy, Canada, San Francisco, California and Miami.
He is particularly well known for his paintings and photographs of the human form ranging from traditional portraiture to underwater nudes. Working in series, he documents the figure and explores perception. He is an observer of the relationship between the mind and the body within a variety of circumstances and environments. He chronicles the nuances of human comprehension and situation, exposing sensuality in a delicate balance.
Munro is most known, and has received acclaim, for his series of underwater photographs shot on location over the last twenty-eight years – long before the current trend. His underwater photographs are unique in that they are not staged or scripted. As with his other figurative work, Munro eschews engaging professional models but in all cases seeks to capture spontaneity in each situation.
2021 Photoshoot at the artist's residence in
Lake Worth Beach, Florida
Education
Engineering, McGill University, 1970-74, Fine Arts, Concordia University, Montréal, 1974–75
Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux Arts, Paris, France, 1975–1980
Color Management in Digital Imaging, City College, San Francisco 1998-2000
Selected Exhibitions
2026 Retrospective CirCa Gallery, Arles France
2025 Surrealistic Ink Featured artist, Pryor Fine Art, West Palm Beach
2023 Studio 1608 Group show, West Palm Beach
2021 The Dialogues Solo, Plant Forward, West Palm Beach
2020 PRM Solo The Cultural Council of the Palm Beaches
2017 The Box Gallery West Palm Beach
2015 RCB Gallery Lake Worth, Florida
2013 Costume d'Anniversaire The Wit Gallery. Lenox, Massachusetts
2012 Photography Stone Soup Gallery, Key West, Florida
2011 Sex, Drugs and Profanity Art Week Miami during Art Beach, 2011: Robert Fontaine Gallery, Miami
2011 Away from the Horde MIAC III, representing Canada, juried by the Miami International Cultural Alliance, Miami Florida
2011 Miami Wave Art Naples 2011, Curator Sergio Garcia, Naples, Florida
2011 MIA Art Fair Miami Beach Convention Center, Miami Beach, Florida
2011 Art Palm Beach Palm Beach Convention Center, Palm Beach, Florida
2010 Red Dot Art Fair Art Basel Miami Beach, Florida
2010 Identity and Resistance Kavachnina Contemporary, Miami, Florida
2010 Miami Voices Aldo Castillo Gallery, Space 4004, Miami, FLorida
2010 Juried Spring Exhibit The Deering Foundation, Miami, Florida
2010 Art Basel Kavachnina Contemporary, Miami, Florida
2009 Miami Art Space Art week Miami during Basel Miami Beach, Florida
2009 Art Bravado Space 4004, Miami, Florida
2009 Passahjeiro Culturale Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands
2008 Sylvester and Co. Amagansett, NY
2008 Fall show Tulla Booth Gallery, Sag Harbor, NY
2007 All Florida Juried Boca Raton Museum, Boca Raton, Florida
2007 Cooler Art Damien B Gallery, Miami, Florida
2006 Behind the Scene Award Winners of 2005, The BAC, Miami, Florida
2005 PRM UWF Wren Gallery of Key West in Miami, Florida
2005 Group Exhibition Miami Beach City Hall, Curator Claire Breukle
2005 The White Party Solo New World Symphony, Casa Casuarinas, Miami Beach
2005 Gallery Artists Apex Gallery, Asbury Park, N.J.
2004 Water Works Solo Stone Soup Gallery, Key West, Florida
2004 Filtro Foto Space Art week Miami during Basel Miami Beach, Florida
2004 Ashmore Gallery Art Week Miami during Basel, Miami Beach, Florida
2004 The Winter Show Wren Gallery, Key West, Florida
2004 The Water Show DNA Gallery, Provincetown, Mass.
2002 SF Works Solo The San Francisco Chamber of Commerce
2001 Moved by Land Finley Center, Santa Rosa, Ca.,
2000 119th Annual Juried The MacBean Gallery, The Art Institute of San Francisco,
90-96 Summer Exhibition Cortland Jessup Gallery, Provincetown, Mass.,
93-94 Members Juried Provincetown Museum, Provincetown, Mass.,
1988 Du Sens Figuré Solo Galerie Eclart, Montréal, Québec
1988 Six Degrees University of San Diego Gallery, San Diego, Ca.
1988 Fountain Blues Galerie UQAM, Montréal, Québec
1988 Group Show Conseil de la Peinture, Montréal, Québec
1987 Variations Gallery Altinian Laing, Montréal, Québec
1987 Un Evénement Collection Armada, Montréal, Quebec
1986 Recent Works Solo The Raif Gallery, Nassau, The Bahamas
1986 Four Painters The Temple Gallery, Nassau, The Bahamas
1982 Nocturnes Gallery Sarah McCutcheon, Montréal, Québec
1981 Recent Works Museum of Madawaska, Edmunston, N.B.
1981 Recent Paintings Toronto International Art Fair, Toronto, Ontario
Selected Collections
The Art Bank, Canada Council for the Arts
Windemere Club, Eleuthera, Bahamas
Lafferty, Atkins Avocats, Montréal, Quebec
Collège Regina Assumpta, Montréal, Québec
Les Industries BMR, Montréal, Québec
National Insurance Board, Freeport, Bahamas
C.S. Friedman, Tiburon, Ca.,
C. Mayer-Crann, San Francisco., Ca.,
Hicks Designs Ltd. Montréal Québec
Walt Disney Motion Pictures, Los Angeles, Ca.,
Hablutzel and Yung, Montréal, Québec
MomoHouse, Tokyo, Japan
Current press: ModeLifestyle Magazine
http://www.modelifestylemagazine.com/blog/?p=292
written by Alexander Michaels