Brenda Goodman: Pieces of Time

JJ MURPHY GALLERY is pleased to present Brenda Goodman’s solo exhibition of recent small collages, Pieces of Time.

 Although collage has a long history, it became part of modern art through the work of Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, who pasted commercial materials into their paintings during Cubism (1912–1914), giving rise to the concept of mixed media. Subsequent art movements, such as Dada, Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism, and Pop Art, used collage with different intentions and effects. Yet what’s fundamental to the technique of collage is the very notion that it juxtaposes different elements to create new and unexpected meanings, which is why Robert Motherwell observed, “Collage is the twentieth century’s greatest innovation.”

During the Covid pandemic, Goodman spent a great deal of time putting together over 40 puzzles. She likens this new series of 33 small photomontages—all 4 x 6 inches or 6 x 4 inches—to the process of solving puzzles. Both engage with the complex problem of arranging shapes on a flat surface. From a large box containing printed details from her earlier paintings, she fits various snippets together to create a new work. As is often the case with collage, the results turn out to be a surprise. In recombining the earlier parts, what’s most remarkable about these small collages is that they feel like quintessential Brenda Goodman works.  

Brenda Goodmanhas had over 40 solo shows of her work, including at Sikkema Malloy Jenkins in 2025, 2023, and 2019, and a survey exhibition at Pamela Salisbury Gallery in Hudson, NY, in 2024. Her work has been included in numerous group exhibitions, including a three-person show at The New York Studio School and Marc Straus Gallery, NYC, in 2026. Goodman’s work is included in major collections: the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Baltimore Museum of Art; the Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; the Detroit Institute of Arts, Michigan; and the Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery, Saratoga Springs, New York. She has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the New York Foundation for the Arts. Her work was included in the American Academy of Arts and Letters annual invitational, where she received the Award in Art in 2015. Goodman is represented by Sikkema Malloy Jenkins, NYC. The artist lives and works in upstate NY.