August 6, 2026
Kat Murphy and Heidi Johnson
A Tin Can on a String: Conversations from the Collection
Lyman Allyn Art Museum, New London, CT
May 16 - August 9, 2026
Installation views
Mining the Museum at the Maryland Historical Society (1992-1993) was one of the first exhibitions where a contemporary artist was invited to examine and reinstall a museums collection. For this project, Fred Wilson illustrated the inherent biases and injustices that were present in the collection and the galleries. His installation critiqued and exposed the absence of an African American point of view. Since then, numerous institutions have invited artists to peruse their archives and represent their collections in various ways.
A tin can on a string is a simple acoustic device where two cans are connected by a tight string. When holding the can to one's ear, one can hear sounds spoken into the other end. The replication of the sounds or utterances are not perfect, which allows for interpretation. Kat Murphy and Heidi Johnson examined the collections of the Lyman Allyn Art Museum at Connecticut College, selecting objects and paintings to use as a point of departure for their artwork. Aptly titled A Tin Can on a String: Conversations from the Collection, the exhibition is just that: a collaboration and a conversation about past and present between two contemporary artists. It is a dense exhibition with numerous wall, as well as floor based works including historical objects as well as new pieces by Murphy and Johnson.
Though this is their first official collaboration, Murphy and Johnson have been friends since art school and while they take different approaches to their art making, this project has allowed them to focus on their intersections and shared love of certain kinds of objects, as well as history and the role of art in contemporary culture. The conversations that developed stemmed from not only their long friendship, but also from their willingness to integrate personal stories into their works. How the personal relates to a more collective consciousness is key to understanding the significance of the exhibition.
Johnson's large scale paintings are for the most part densely populated, a menagerie of invented and observed animals negotiating their survival in hyper-real interior and exterior spaces. Murphy does not work in a single medium and in this installation, she presents paintings, drawings and mixed media sculptures that transform preexisting imagery into something magical and unexpected.
For example, Murphy's Neon Sisters (2026) is on view in the exhibition alongside Abram Poole's oil painting titled The Spanish Sisters (1925-1928). Murphy simplifies the original into a purple illuminated line drawing made of LED lights, removing all but the sister's dresses, a fan and a bouquet of flowers. Murphy also recreates a pair of porcelain Staffordshire Poodles and a 19th century cameo pin showing birds in a bath from a Pompeiian mosaic. These enlargements are engaging reinterpretations that illustrate the expansive nature of the Lyman Allyn collection. Murphy's Pippin Empire (2026) includes her dachshund Pippin. An Empire-style sofa from the collection is situated in the corner of one of the exhibition galleries. It is placed on a wooden pedestal next to a dog shaped stool. The ensemble is roped off as it would be in a traditional museum display of furniture. On the wall above it is Murphy's re-interpretation: a rendering of the sofa in a carpeted room with bright blue wall paper covered with a pattern of high heel shoes. A similar pair of shoes sits on the floor in front of the sofa. Looking out at the viewer from the couch is Murphy's dog Pippin wearing a historical ruff collar. The artist delights in this intervention, humorously bringing herself into the work.
In The Olympians (Barkley's Fairy) (2026), Murphy integrates fragments from disparate images — ranging from a Larry Fink photograph to a collage by Romare Bearden, and a painting by Barkley Hendricks — into a composition that weaves a new narrative from past to present.
Like Murphy, Johnson is also interested in creating narratives from preexisting sources and the Lyman Allyn collection provided her with ample materials. She integrated representations of Audubon's engravings of doves into the painting Audubondance (2026). In this large-scale oil on canvas, numerous birds of myriad species, colors and sizes populate a lush green tree filled landscape along side a pink flamingo and a growling brown bear. Porch (2025) is a three panel painting that juxtaposes inside and out. Two dogs on a porch, one perched on a chair reminiscent of George Nakashima's Conoid Chair (from the collection), gaze into a landscape beyond. Johnson's painting is a combination of fragments from a range of works from the collection. In addition to the Conoid Chair, this work includes painted renditions of Jane Peterson's Zinnias (1925-1956), a Tiffany Studios dragonfly lamp, the Staffordshire Poodles that Murphy also recreated, as well as a caged parrot figurine (18th century) and birds in a rounded glass vitrine (19th century).
In describing this painting, Johnson talks about the different reasons for collecting and how in essence, collections tell a story of a life. She states, "When I made the painting, Porch, for the Lyman Allyn’s exhibition, I incorporated beloved pieces acquired by local residents during New London’s whaling heyday. The objects are set in the container of a familiar and homey New England porch and guarded by a trusted, yet skeptical companion: Scout [one of the artist's three dogs], who is perched on the Nakashima chair. I wanted to show the evolution of a big painting where things are left in or out according to the artists emotional and design decisions." Johnson's painting Alchemy includes a self portrait. It weaves together a narrative that moves from faux pyramids in Las Vegas, to falconry to mummies. Coming across a mummified falcon in the museums collection prompted Johnson to think about a recent trip to Egypt and the relationships between Gods, myths and coincidence. Encircled by powerful falcons, the artist depicts herself with the all knowing third eye in her forehead, acknowledging the desire to attain the unknowable.
The installation of Johnson and Murphy's works is presented as a dialogue. The gallery spaces contain both artists works, as well as objects from the collection, allowing viewers to move forward and back in time. While some of the works are replicas of objects from the past, both artists discovered numerous surprises — things that resonated personally — during their investigations and ingeniously integrated these finds into new creations.
A Tin Can on a String: Conversations from the Collection
Lyman Allyn Art Museum, New London, CT
May 16 - August 9, 2026
Installation views
Mining the Museum at the Maryland Historical Society (1992-1993) was one of the first exhibitions where a contemporary artist was invited to examine and reinstall a museums collection. For this project, Fred Wilson illustrated the inherent biases and injustices that were present in the collection and the galleries. His installation critiqued and exposed the absence of an African American point of view. Since then, numerous institutions have invited artists to peruse their archives and represent their collections in various ways.
A tin can on a string is a simple acoustic device where two cans are connected by a tight string. When holding the can to one's ear, one can hear sounds spoken into the other end. The replication of the sounds or utterances are not perfect, which allows for interpretation. Kat Murphy and Heidi Johnson examined the collections of the Lyman Allyn Art Museum at Connecticut College, selecting objects and paintings to use as a point of departure for their artwork. Aptly titled A Tin Can on a String: Conversations from the Collection, the exhibition is just that: a collaboration and a conversation about past and present between two contemporary artists. It is a dense exhibition with numerous wall, as well as floor based works including historical objects as well as new pieces by Murphy and Johnson.
Though this is their first official collaboration, Murphy and Johnson have been friends since art school and while they take different approaches to their art making, this project has allowed them to focus on their intersections and shared love of certain kinds of objects, as well as history and the role of art in contemporary culture. The conversations that developed stemmed from not only their long friendship, but also from their willingness to integrate personal stories into their works. How the personal relates to a more collective consciousness is key to understanding the significance of the exhibition.
Johnson's large scale paintings are for the most part densely populated, a menagerie of invented and observed animals negotiating their survival in hyper-real interior and exterior spaces. Murphy does not work in a single medium and in this installation, she presents paintings, drawings and mixed media sculptures that transform preexisting imagery into something magical and unexpected.
For example, Murphy's Neon Sisters (2026) is on view in the exhibition alongside Abram Poole's oil painting titled The Spanish Sisters (1925-1928). Murphy simplifies the original into a purple illuminated line drawing made of LED lights, removing all but the sister's dresses, a fan and a bouquet of flowers. Murphy also recreates a pair of porcelain Staffordshire Poodles and a 19th century cameo pin showing birds in a bath from a Pompeiian mosaic. These enlargements are engaging reinterpretations that illustrate the expansive nature of the Lyman Allyn collection. Murphy's Pippin Empire (2026) includes her dachshund Pippin. An Empire-style sofa from the collection is situated in the corner of one of the exhibition galleries. It is placed on a wooden pedestal next to a dog shaped stool. The ensemble is roped off as it would be in a traditional museum display of furniture. On the wall above it is Murphy's re-interpretation: a rendering of the sofa in a carpeted room with bright blue wall paper covered with a pattern of high heel shoes. A similar pair of shoes sits on the floor in front of the sofa. Looking out at the viewer from the couch is Murphy's dog Pippin wearing a historical ruff collar. The artist delights in this intervention, humorously bringing herself into the work.
In The Olympians (Barkley's Fairy) (2026), Murphy integrates fragments from disparate images — ranging from a Larry Fink photograph to a collage by Romare Bearden, and a painting by Barkley Hendricks — into a composition that weaves a new narrative from past to present.
Like Murphy, Johnson is also interested in creating narratives from preexisting sources and the Lyman Allyn collection provided her with ample materials. She integrated representations of Audubon's engravings of doves into the painting Audubondance (2026). In this large-scale oil on canvas, numerous birds of myriad species, colors and sizes populate a lush green tree filled landscape along side a pink flamingo and a growling brown bear. Porch (2025) is a three panel painting that juxtaposes inside and out. Two dogs on a porch, one perched on a chair reminiscent of George Nakashima's Conoid Chair (from the collection), gaze into a landscape beyond. Johnson's painting is a combination of fragments from a range of works from the collection. In addition to the Conoid Chair, this work includes painted renditions of Jane Peterson's Zinnias (1925-1956), a Tiffany Studios dragonfly lamp, the Staffordshire Poodles that Murphy also recreated, as well as a caged parrot figurine (18th century) and birds in a rounded glass vitrine (19th century).
In describing this painting, Johnson talks about the different reasons for collecting and how in essence, collections tell a story of a life. She states, "When I made the painting, Porch, for the Lyman Allyn’s exhibition, I incorporated beloved pieces acquired by local residents during New London’s whaling heyday. The objects are set in the container of a familiar and homey New England porch and guarded by a trusted, yet skeptical companion: Scout [one of the artist's three dogs], who is perched on the Nakashima chair. I wanted to show the evolution of a big painting where things are left in or out according to the artists emotional and design decisions." Johnson's painting Alchemy includes a self portrait. It weaves together a narrative that moves from faux pyramids in Las Vegas, to falconry to mummies. Coming across a mummified falcon in the museums collection prompted Johnson to think about a recent trip to Egypt and the relationships between Gods, myths and coincidence. Encircled by powerful falcons, the artist depicts herself with the all knowing third eye in her forehead, acknowledging the desire to attain the unknowable.
The installation of Johnson and Murphy's works is presented as a dialogue. The gallery spaces contain both artists works, as well as objects from the collection, allowing viewers to move forward and back in time. While some of the works are replicas of objects from the past, both artists discovered numerous surprises — things that resonated personally — during their investigations and ingeniously integrated these finds into new creations.