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LaBurn, Mullins to explore ‘Powers’ of visual storytelling

by Andy Coughlan

When Sirena LaBurn and Nathan Mullins met at the Studio School in New York, they shared more than an affinity for paint — they shared an interest in stories and mythologies. LaBurn, a native of Nederland, Texas, and Mullins, who hails from Clarksdale, Mississippi, see their paintings as part of the human narrative.

“It’s the idea of just trying to engage with the potential of all that’s come before you,” LaBurn said. “That makes me feel like I’m a part of a continuum of story makers. That makes me feel human.”

“What humans do is tell stories, is push stories forward,” Mullins said. “And it changes as time goes by.” LaBurn and Mullins will present an exhibition of their work, titled “Powers at Play,” March 6-27, at The Art Studio, Inc. The pair met in 2012 where they were both students. The Studio School features interconnected spaces and Mullins said the artists could visit each other’s studios.

“I think that’s how we really came together, being able to look at and think about the world in ways that meant a lot to both of us,” he said. LaBurn’s work features Texas imagery that examines the perceptions people have of the state — images of ranching and cowboys and wide-open plains. “I’ve traveled a lot, and when people would ask me where I was from, and I would say, ‘Texas,’ I could just see the look on their faces. A lot of the Western movies take place in Texas, there’s the myth of Texas associated with the imagery.”

Although Southeast Texas is more swamp than wideopen landscape, LaBurn said she knew people assumed she was from a dry, ranching community, so for her graduate studies she decided to start to understand that. LaBurn interned at The Stark Museum of Art in Orange, Texas, which specializes in Western art.

“That gave me a good background,” she said. “And I just started watching all these Western movies and starting to wonder, why is this? When I’m making paintings that feel connected to Texas, I just feel like I’m trying to use that type of imagery but not in a noncliche way — in a fresh way that feels personal and more connected to me rather than some type of Western American mythology.” Mullins said he recognizes people have equally strong perceptions of Mississippi. “I think (they) discount you a little bit, because the South and Mississippi is usually at the bottom of the rankings,” he said. “It’s easy to dismiss. I grew up in Clarksdale, which is where the crossroads of (highways) 61 and 49 are, (where) Robert Johnson sells his soul to the devil at the crossroads,” he said. “There’s a lot of storytelling and mythologizing of these characters. A lot of my work deals with mythology and iconography. I don’t think it necessarily sticks with Southern myths, but definitely my interest in myth came from growing up there.” Mullins’ work is characterized by vivid colors, which give the paintings a magical quality. “That the color isn’t naturalistic is certainly a choice,” he said. “It’s a way to clue the viewer that this isn’t real life, that this is extra-normal territory, which is where myth lives. I think paintings are a way to access a sort of magical world, that they exist in some other sort of reality. And you’re putting it out there and hoping that it affects people in an extra-normal way.” LaBurn’s images are colorful and textured, the result of adding layer upon layer until the image reveals itself. “How it happens is, I usually make 10 failed paintings underneath that one painting,” she said. “It just gets that thick, incidentally. A painting I just finished that has like a cactus on it, I think I’ve had that panel for over three years, then I finally found the painting — it was meant to be there.”

“Powers At Play” is on view at The Art Studio, Inc. March 6 through 27 during regular hours or virtually at www.artstudio.org and on social media

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