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Nathan Murray is a socially engaged artist and educator from Lincoln, Nebraska. His work focuses on exploring issues of race, ethnicity, and intersectionality, particularly how these aspects of identity are expressed in people and their stories. Murray’s artistic practice revolves around creating lifelike clay sculptures that examine nuanced representations of people and contemporary issues.

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He earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2009 and his Master of Fine Arts from the University of Florida in 2015. Murray has exhibited his work nationally and has been widely published in magazines, books, and online platforms. Notably, his work from the exhibition "Color Theory" was featured on the cover of the March 2017 issue of Ceramics Monthly Magazine. Additionally, his work was featured in the 2023 book “Contemporary Black Ceramic Artists” by Chotsani Elaine Dean and Donald A. Clark.

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Murray has received numerous awards and grants, including a residency at the Lux Center for the Arts in 2015 and a grant from the Mid America Arts Alliance in 2019. In 2022, he received the Mayor Art Award for Artistic Achievement, and in 2023, Murray will attend a residency at the Union for Contemporary Art.

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Murray often teaches at Lux Center for the Arts and Nebraska Wesleyan University, and recently taught a two-week workshop titled "Clay Identity: Sculpting Busts" at Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Snowmass Village, Colorado. Currently, Murray is working on his upcoming exhibition "BIPOC of Nebraska," featuring ceramic busts of remarkable Nebraskans of color.