Welcome to A.I. Oakland/ 2042 Gallery News. We are delighted to have you with us. 2042 Gallery and its parent company, A.I. Oakland’s mission is to encourage, promote and connect artists it represents with fellow artists, galleries and individuals within the arts community through exhibitions and distribution of art news and opportunities.

Dear Family, Friends and Patrons,

I am humbly and happy to announce that the sequel to my Oakland All-stars series is currently on display at Oakland City Hall, 3rd floor, curated by Veda Silva (Museum Project Coordinator of the African American Museum and Library of Oakland - AAMLO/ Oakland Public Library) in collaboration with the City Administrators Office.

Thank you for your continued support. Enjoy the show!

Artistically Yours,

Eric Murphy

"AT-TRIBUTE:

OAKLAND CITY of STARS,

THEN & NOW

Mixed Media by Eric Murphy

​

March 18 - April 18, 2024

Co-curated by: Veda Silva (Museum Project Coordinator of the African American Museum and Library of Oakland - AAMLO/ Oakland Public Library - OPL) in collaboration with the City Administrators Office.

Exhibition supported by the City of Oakland Administrator's Office, AAMLO, A.I. Oakland. Sponsored by the Ari Jo Fund (Rock, Paper Scissor Collective)

For exhibition information, contact Veda Silva: 510.637.0200

​

Opening Reception and Artist Tour:

Wednesday, April 10th | 6-8pm

To register, visit:

https://CityofstarsbyEricMurphy.eventbrite.com

ONLINE PRICE LIST

To inquire about artwork contact, Eric Murphy: eric.aioakland@gmail.com

Eric Murphy

“Dominga Velasco ” (Oakland Allstars series)

Mixed Media and artist's hand painted black mat

28” x 20.5”

$900

For more information contact: eric.aioakland@gmail.com.

or click payment options at the bottom to make a purchase. Thank you.

This is a tribute to Dominga “Dominguita” Velasco - May 12, 1901 – October 11, 2015 (one of the longest living Mexican born super-centenarian)

Easter Eggs

1) a recipe from here restaurant in West Oakland on 7th St before Fruitvale. 2) proclamation from Oakland City Councilman Noell Gallo 3) The retirement home in Fruitvale Ave where she died at 114 years old as one of California's longest living person on record.

Eric Murphy

“Thomas L. Berkley” (Oakland Allstars series)

Mixed Media and artist's hand painted black mat

28” x 20.5”

$900

For more information contact: eric.aioakland@gmail.com.

or click payment options at the bottom to make a purchase. Thank you.

Easter Eggs 

1) Top left is Thomas L. Berkley in front of the Oakland Post office he co-founded 2) Above that is the El Mundo (spanish version of the Oakland Post paper he also co-founded 3) Lower left is a shot I took in 2020 of the street named after Thomas L. Berkley that then Mayor Jerry Brown made for him. The Broadway sign falls out of the frame. 4) The lower right end is the Port of Oakland that he was partially instrumental in strengthening to the point Oakland became the 5th largest port in the U.S. by bringing in the cranes to load the containers.



Eric Murphy

“Frank H. Ogawa” (Oakland Allstars series)

Mixed Media and artist's hand painted black mat

28” x 20.5”

$900

For more information contact: eric.aioakland@gmail.com.

or click payment options at the bottom to make a purchase. Thank you.

Easter Eggs 

1) Very top is the Port of Oakland in which he was instrumental in strengthening a connection with the world. 2) Top left is a collage of newspaper articles of Frank Ogawa with his family as he becomes City Councilman of Oakland. From the same article is a header about him and other Japanese Americans being discriminated against after WWII and the Japanese Internment period. In the far left corner next to the article is a map of Lodi, California his hometown and the Bay Area cities indicating the irony of interning American born Japanese who had nothing to do with the "Attack on Pearl Harbor" 3) At the far right end over his shoulder if the Executive Order 9066 that intern Japanese Americans across the US 4) Lower right is a shot I took in 2012 in Fukuoka, Japan's City Hall that has the City of Oakland logo in their basement with a map of Oakland and description in Japanese  5) DIrectly below his bust is the street sign for Frank H. Ogawa Plaza 6) The bust itself is a a twin bust as the 2nd one is in the Port of Hakata (old name for Fukuoka, Japan) as you can see in the attached picture in this email of me with my host family and friends in Fukuoka, Japan in April 2012. That is why most of Fukuoka is referenced on the lower end of the bust. 7) At the very bottom, at the exact opposite end of the Port of Oakland is the Port of Hakata with similar cranes to the Port of Oakland 8) The two tassel-like panels are the articles embedded into the map that people can read. They are a subtle reference to the black text panels next to the Frank H. Ogawa bust in the plaza about Frank.

Eric Murphy

“Julia Morgan” (Oakland Allstars series)

Mixed Media and artist's hand painted black mat

28” x 20.5”

$900

For more information contact: eric.aioakland@gmail.com.

or click payment options at the bottom to make a purchase. Thank you.

Easter Eggs 

1) Under the top Oakland logo references her as an Oakland High Alumni graduate of 1890 2) The main portrait is Julia Morgan in 1890 around the time she graduated from Oakland High 3) To the left of the main portrait is her in her elder stage. I'm not sure the exact age 4) underneath that portrait is her illustration of one of her most famous buildings designed - The Hearst Castle in San Simeon, Ca. 5) To the left of that is a watercolor sketch of her building design, the Berkeley City Club with the well known swimming pool section 6) Direct beneath her main portrait is her at the famous École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. She was the first woman admitted to the prestigious architecture program and graduated. and she was the first licensed female architect in the state of California 7) Is her sketch of the 72-foot bell tower at Mills College, El Campani. It was her first reinforced concrete structure, was constructed in 1904 — and just two years later, famously survived the 1906 San Francisco earthquake unscathed. She was the earliest or one of the earliest architects to use concrete reinforced structures.  

Eric Murphy

“Mel Ramos” (Oakland Allstars series)

Mixed Media and artist's hand painted black mat

28” x 20.5”

$900

For more information contact: eric.aioakland@gmail.com.

or click payment options at the bottom to make a purchase. Thank you.

Easter Eggs 

1) One of the original American Pop artists of the 60s with Andy Warhol, Wayne Thiebaud, Roy Litchenstein, more. 2) One of the original pop artists to focus on painting comic book heroes 3) In 2009, Ramos was part of the first Portuguese American bilingual art book and exhibit in California "Ashes to Life a Portuguese American Story in Art" with fellow artists Nathan Oliveira, John Mattos and João de Brito. 4) The Mel and Leta Ramos Family Foundation is a non-profit family foundation dedicated to the support of the visual arts education

Eric Murphy

“Paul Mooney” (Oakland Allstars series)

Mixed Media and artist's hand painted black mat

28” x 20.5”

$900

For more information contact: eric.aioakland@gmail.com.

or click payment options at the bottom to make a purchase. Thank you.

Easter Eggs 

1) The main image is a portrait of Paul Mooney in his early years coming out of the map of Oakland 2) In the Background you would see promo pictures of Sanford and Son which he co-wrote for two episodes  3) In the background inside the map in the lower right corner is Paul Mooney's proclamation from the City of Oakland, Ca. 4) In the top left corner is his first initial with his birth and death date and place  5) In the bottom right corner is his first initial translated in Wakandan script with his birth and death date and place

Eric Murphy

“Bruce Lee and Brandon Lee” (Oakland Allstars series)

Mixed Media and artist's hand painted black mat

28” x 20.5”

$900

For more information contact: eric.aioakland@gmail.com.

or click payment options at the bottom to make a purchase. Thank you.

Easter Eggs 

1) Under the top Oakland logo is Oakland translated in Chinese Traditional 2) The main portrait is Bruce Lee in one of his famous films, Enter the Dragon. During this film and where he died at the age of 32, due to allergic reaction to some pain medication 3) To the left is a picture of him at 4 months old in his first acting career playing a baby girl in a SF based filmed called "Golden Gate Girl" in 1941 4) At the bottom is a picture of him in front of his friends house on Monticello Ave in East Oakland by Mills College where he began his martial arts training class. 5) At the top left is a picture of Brandon Lee in color next to his father Bruce Lee. To the right of Brandon Lee in color is a black and white image of one of his most famed characters from the movie - The Crow 6) The calligraphy style BL at the top left is for Bruce Lee and his birth and death information. 7) At the Bottom Right is a calligraphy BL upside down for Brandon Lee with his Birth and Death information.



Eric Murphy

“Carl Weathers” (Oakland Allstars series)

January 14, 1948 – February 1, 2024

Mixed Media and artist's hand painted black mat

28” x 20.5”

$900

For more information contact: eric.aioakland@gmail.com.

or click payment options at the bottom to make a purchase. Thank you.

Easter Eggs 

1) The main image is a promo picture of Carl Weathers in his most iconic character he is known to play, Apollo Creed of the Rocky movie series. This is from Rocky IV the most famous one 2) Underneath that is a picture of Carl Weathers in his first professional career as a free agent linebacker for the Oakland Raiders in 1970 that helped lead the Oakland Raiders to an A.F.C. Championship which is referenced in the lower left corner of the Oakland map in black and white 3) His initials C is in the upper left corner and his last initial W is inverted in the lower right corner of the picture.



Eric Murphy

“Andre Ward” (Oakland Allstars series)

Mixed Media and artist's hand painted black mat

28” x 20.5”

$900

For more information contact: eric.aioakland@gmail.com.

or click payment options at the bottom to make a purchase. Thank you.

Easter Eggs 

1)  Picture of Andre Ward as a child boxer  2)  Ward won a gold medal in the 2004 Athens Olympics, making him the last American male boxer to win gold in the Olympics.  3) He finished his career in 2017 undefeated (32-0, 16 KOs) and won multiple championship titles in two weight classes: super middleweight and light heavyweight.  4) He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2021 — a class that featured Floyd Mayweather, Laila Ali and Wladimir Klitschko.



Eric Murphy

Oakland Allstars (Juan Toscano - Anderson)

Mixed Media/digital

22" x 28" with hand painted black mat in black frame

$900

For more information contact: eric.aioakland@gmail.com.

or click payment options at the bottom to make a purchase. Thank you.

Easter Eggs 

1) In this piece, Juan is shown in front of a map of Oakland, engulfed in district lines. 2) He represents both his Black and Mexican heritage with the Mexican flag he wears on the basketball court. 3) His initials are both English and Wakandan Script from opposite ends like a playing card. 4) His Jersey #95 represents 95th Avenue in East Oakland where he grew up.



Eric Murphy

“Daniella Pineda” (Oakland Allstars series)

Mixed Media and artist's hand painted black mat

28” x 20.5”

$900

For more information contact: eric.aioakland@gmail.com.

or click payment options at the bottom to make a purchase. Thank you.

Easter Eggs 

1)  She graduated from Mills College in Oakland, California with a degree in sociology and radio journalism. 2) Daniella played Sophie Devereaux in the CW series "The Vampire Diaries 3) Daniella plays Zia Rodriguez in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom 4)  Daniella plays Bonnie in "Plane with famed actors, Gerard Butler (300) and Mike Cotler (Luke Cage)  5) In 2022, she was invited as a keynote speaker by the American Conservation Coalition Summit in Washington, DC to present on the importance of bipartisanship in the handling of climate change being an environmental advocate and supporter of Circularity (Circularity is an economic model that follows the three Rs: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle).



Eric Murphy

“Zendaya” (Oakland Allstars series)

Mixed Media and artist's hand painted black mat

28” x 20.5”

$900

For more information contact: eric.aioakland@gmail.com.

or click payment options at the bottom to make a purchase. Thank you.

Easter Eggs

1) Zendaya with Tom Holland as MJ on set of Spiderman movie 2) Zendaya at Fruitvale Middleschool (East Oakland) last year where her mother recently retired.

3) Zendaya performing at Oakland Art and Soul Festival 2012.



Eric Murphy

“Mark Hamill” (Oakland Allstars series)

Mixed Media and artist's hand painted black mat

28” x 20.5”

$900

For more information contact: eric.aioakland@gmail.com.

or click payment options at the bottom to make a purchase. Thank you.

Easter Eggs 

1) The main image with Mark Hamill holding the sword while coming out of the map of Oakland is a reference to his most notorious role from 1977, the famous Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars Franchise 2) Under the M on the sword is a 2015 post from Mark Hamill's Twitter account where an assistant Editor from Diablo Magazine asks Mark Hamill to confirm where he was born because a site list him as being born in Concord, Ca. Mark Hamill replies to the assistant editor that he was born in Oakland, Ca. and that he saw the post on the TCM site and don't know where they got that from 3) At the very top of the Oakland Map you will see United24, it is a reference to the world organization that Mark Hamill is a member of that started doing fundraising for the people of Ukraine in 2022.  4) Under his sword is Mark reprising his role as a mentoring Luke Skywalker years later in the 2017 Star Wars: The Last Jedi 5) Under that are two pics from the same movie, a. is the movie poster of "The Big Red One," a WWII era film featuring Mark Hamill as Pvt. Griff. b. is an actual clip of him from the movie in war with his helmet.



Eric Murphy

“VP Kamala Harris” (Oakland Allstars series)

Mixed Media and artist's hand painted black mat

28” x 20.5”

$900

For more information contact: eric.aioakland@gmail.com.

or click payment options at the bottom to make a purchase. Thank you.

Easter Eggs 

1) To the right of the K at the top is the Nsibidi (historic Nigerian protowriting) which means Root. Take the small little inverted V at the bottom out and it would mean tree. In this case both apply as it implies Kamala is rooted in Oakland, as a person born in this city, the tree is also referenced as Oakland's logo and name 2) Under the Oakland tree at the top is Oakland translated in Tamil which is the language VP Kamala Harris' mother spoke.   3) On the flip side or inverted right end is K translated in Wakandan Script (created by Academy Award production designer, Hannah Beachler from the Black Panther movies as a derivative of an actual North African language) To the left of it is the word Country in Nsibidi flipped upside down 4) To the left of Kamala's head at the top of the Oakland map, is the White House 5) The center portrait of Kamala is a derivative of her on the cover of Time Magazine with a posterize style to look like a campaign or political poster b. To the left of her it say's "About Time" a pun to the Time portion of the Magazine indicating that it is about Time we have a Vice President of the United States that is a woman and woman of color, both Black and South East Asian, etc. 6) American Flag to the right of her to represent her national public servant. 7) She has two flag pins that represent two of her main racial background; Jamaican (Father) and East Indian (Mother). 8) Directly beneath her main portrait is her name in orange translated in Tamil which is Kamala Devi Harris from right to left 9) In the bottom right corner is Kamala as newly elected VP of the US in front of our Oakland City Hall. 10) In the bottom left corner are two images of the same subject, Kamala's tweet about starting Back On Track, a pilot program she started as DA of San Francisco to help reduce recidivism rate among youth and non felony offenders and provide programs for them to successfully return to society and not back in jail. Something a lot of her critics don't bring up much. Back On Track LA is the program years later still making progress.



Eric Murphy

“Van Jones” (Oakland Allstars series)

Mixed Media and artist's hand painted black mat

28” x 20.5”

$900

For more information contact: eric.aioakland@gmail.com.

or click payment options at the bottom to make a purchase. Thank you.

Easter Eggs 

1) The main image is a portrait of Van Jones coming out of the map of Oakland 2) In the Background you would see the logo for the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights in Oakland, which Van Jones is a co-founder of 3) In the top left corner is his first initial. 4) In the bottom right corner is his first initial translated in Wakandan script 



Eric Murphy

“Michael Morgan” (Oakland Allstars series)

Mixed Media and artist's hand painted black mat

28” x 20.5”

$900

For more information contact: eric.aioakland@gmail.com.

or click payment options at the bottom to make a purchase. Thank you.

Easter Eggs 

1)  age 12 he was conducting two orchestras, one at MacFarland Junior High School, the other at his church   2)  He was music director of the Oakland East Bay Symphony for 30 years   3)  American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) chose Morgan as one of its five 2005 Concert Music Award recipients   4) A quote from Michael I will add - "Being a classical musician, being a conductor, being black, being gay – all of these things put you on the outside, and each one puts you a little further out than the last one" and that "you get accustomed to constructing your own world because there are not a lot of clear paths to follow and not a lot of people that are just like you"



To make a purchase, click the payment options below. Identify which artwork or artworks you want to purchase via

Paypal or Venmo.

For other payment options, contact, Eric Murphy: eric.aioakland@gmail.com

Thank you!

ABOUT THE EXHIBIT

“AT-TRIBUTE: 

Oakland City of Stars, Then and Now”

“At Tribute” is the titled exhibition by Oakland native and Oakland-based artist, Eric Murphy. The double entendre which means to be present at a tribute (this exhibition), highlights the attributes of people and things that are being commemorated or regarded as influential from Oakland, California. 

Celebrating Oakland’s finest both past and present, Murphy continues his series of famous people you may or may not know that are from or affiliated with Oakland in one capacity or another in his “Oakland All-Stars” series. They are engulfed in a map of Oakland, decorated in its district lines as motifs that the artist has been using since 2016. Embedded in each map are images of their story of fame or their connection to Oakland. Its playing cards format includes the City of Oakland logo in place of the normal playing cards suit and pips (hearts, spades, etc.) below the celebrity’s initials with a language translation on the flip side. Each framed piece has a hand-painted black mat by the artist to center the viewer’s eye on the playing card presentation. Various found images are mixed with designs and photographs taken by the artist to complete the final work. 

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Eric Murphy is a photographer, graphic design artist, independent curator and art collector. He has been supporting the Oakland arts since 1999. He was a long time former staff of Pro Arts Gallery in Oakland for over 10 years and represented bay area artists during that time. He has supported bay area galleries such as Linen Life Gallery, Slate Contemporary, Firehouse Art Center & Harrington Gallery, Evolve the Gallery. In 2012, he was Project Manager and Curator for the Oakland-Fukuoka Artist Exchange, a traveling exhibition of works by Oakland artist, James Gayles and Fukuoka artist, Hiroko To in celebration with Oakland and Fukuoka, Japan's 50th anniversary as sister cities with collaborative public art projects permanently installed in Fukuoka, Japan’s sister city gardens and Oakland City Hall.

Murphy is currently the Gallery Director of Joyce Gordon Gallery and has worked with the gallery as a curator and art installer since 2012. Murphy is also a curatorial Advisor for Tea Roots organization based in Oakland and San Francisco, Ca and current member of the Oakland Public Art Advisory Committee (PAAC). He also successfully completed two terms (2012 – 2018) as a re-appointed member of the Alameda County Arts Commission and currently sits on its board.