Mark Mulhern Gatherings by toryfolliard

MARK MULHERN GATHERINGS

FOREWORD By: FRED STONEHOUSE

Watching Mark Mulhern's work develop for nearly forty years has been a rare and wonderful pleasure. From my early experience seeing his powerfully expressionistic 1984 solo exhibition at Frumkin Struve Gallery in Chicago to his most recent, masterfully exquisite show at Tory Folliard Gallery, it has been quite a journey. I recall being very impressed by that first show in Chicago. The paintings were large, fiercely rendered, and psychologically fraught. And they were very much "of the moment." Neo- Expressionism had hit the art scene in a big way, and here was this guy from Milwaukee who seemed to be tapped into the zeitgeist, making serious and important work and getting real attention for it. He was a role model to younger Milwaukee artists and set a very high bar for all of us to meet on the ambition scale. Some years later, when I managed to meet Mark in person, I was surprised to find him beautifully soft spoken and unassuming. A wonderfully gentle presence, so unlike what those early paintings might have suggested. But by this time, his work had shifted and begun to assume a sort of haunting loveliness, a graceful and delicate atmosphere that hinted at a perceptive quickness of eye and deftness of touch. I have often said that what artists contribute to the world is their ability to "see," to notice what is overlooked and find beauty in the most unexpected places. In this sense, Mark Mulhern is a true "seer;" he observes and notices the subtlety and nuance of the stuff of our world. His careful selection of moments and reimagination of those moments into perfectly harmonious events on the canvas is a real joy for a fellow painter to absorb. 5

Without a doubt, the overall impressionistic flavor of these paintings is easy to soak up. But for me, the way his work sits between rigorous abstraction on the one hand and intimate psychological encounters on the other is what I find so compelling. I love seeing the artist's mind at work in these paintings; his careful arrangement of form and color in the vertical space of the picture plane; playful scale shifts and how that influences narrative and always; the painted surface, and the tension between line and color and texture and the discovery that lies within it all. Mark Mulhern's paintings ask the audience to slow down and spend time enjoying their company. They are rich objects that take more than a glance to experience. They are deceptively simple and complex things simultaneously, and it's easy to linger inside them. These are not paintings for those in a hurry. Like so much great painting, they reveal themselves over time and should be, ideally, lived with or at least returned to time after time like an evolving and ongoing conversation.

Fred Stonehouse Professor of Art University of Wisconsin - Madison

Opposite: Party in Full Swing , 2020, Mixed Media on Paper, 59 x 78”

GATHERINGS Essay By: Rose Balistreri

Mark Mulhern's figurative paintings, monotypes, and drawings are immersive displays of the human experience. Each work encourages the viewer to enter into a realm of the real and imagined, where Mulhern's gestural characters engage in mundane acts of walking in parks and talking among friends, to more sumptuous moments of attending lavish parties and strolling through Parisian flea markets. Over a fifty-year career and hundreds of works, Gatherings represents a natural progression in his aesthetic investigations. Mulhern has had a love affair with France since the 1970s when he studied with the legendary S.W. Hayter Atelier 17 studio in Paris. Since then, he and his wife, Jill, have made numerous trips to France. Mulhern pays homage to France, where the light, colors, and shapes contribute to his work's atmosphere and compositional structure. With a sketchbook in hand, Mulhern likes to make drawings and notes wherever he goes. He is an avid people watcher, studying gesture and body language and paying attention to style and fashion. Sometimes fashion becomes an excuse for a costume party, and sometimes, it creates associations to historical times linked to the Rococo or Antebellum period. In Mulhern's work, the Victorian cage crinoline petticoats suggest a fashion refinement, but they add unusual shapes to his compositions in a contemporary context. The modern designs of Alexander McQueen and traditional Japanese and Indian garments also find themselves in Mulhern's work, adorning a spectrum of characters. 9

An essential part of Mulhern's artistic process involves developing the material he gathers in his sketchbooks, magazines, and photos. He likes to combine images and shapes until they resonate in exciting ways. Monotypes are his preferred medium for this exploration. Making a monotype allows the artist to loosen up and explore gestures, movements, costumes, and themes. Many of his monotype themes reoccur in his paintings, which create a sense of continuity throughout his work. In the painting, Raining in Paris (Plate 4), the sunflowers are inspired by the opening scenes of Julian Schnabel's film, At Eternity's Gate, about Vincent Van Gogh. The painting also nods to Ludwig Bemelmans' famed children's book, Madeline, where the teacher leads the young girls through the wet Jardin du Luxembourg on a spring morning. The composition is divided up into blocks of patterns and layers of colors, creating a formal structure for the subject matter. Mulhern also employs text in this scene, a technique he sometimes uses as a break from painting to get in touch with his thoughts. "Sometimes I'll get to a point where I'm not connected to what's going on in a work, and I'm not quite sure what I want. So, I'll start writing. Interestingly, I'll refocus on my intention, what I'm trying to do, and what I want. As I'm doing that, it seems like the writing becomes marks of their own. This helps me move from the narrative back into the formal relationships of the painting."

Many paintings in the Gatherings exhibition portray groups of people at celebratory events, cocktail parties, and weddings filled with a sense of joie de vivre. One of Mulhern's references for these works is the well-known painting Pilgrimage to the Isle of Cythera, by the French Rococo artist Antoine Watteau. The painting depicts a lively group of beautiful aristocrats embarking on the mythical isle of love for an outdoor romp or "fete gallant." In Mulhern's painting, Decadent Party (Plate 4), it's easy to imagine this same group of individuals relishing an outdoor soiree under the light of twinkling trees. Happy exchanges are the subjects of Descending on the Table (Plate 12) and Transitioning into Evening (Plate 3). These large festive scenes are a nod to Italian filmmakers Federico Fellini and Paolo Sorrentino. While the well-dressed guests enjoy beautiful hors d'oeuvres and cocktails, the lights flicker in the gardens, and the waiters scurry around — snappily dressed in black and white with red vests. The stacked perspective shows figures diminish in size toward the top of the picture. The horizon line is high in the composition, eschewing the convention of linear perspective and deep space popular since the Renaissance. "There is a history of figures being large or small based on their importance in a composition or their status. I was aware of that and began to play with that idea. But the biggest reason to add the smaller figures is that I did not want to be restrained by the Western perspective. I wanted to use a more open-ended, abstract space where I could put things wherever I wished - adding to the whole feeling of it, the way you experience things that are not always linear and logical. Sometimes a figure will stand out because they made an impression on you or something was going on in the background, or just the way memories are layered from experience."

Descending on the Table (detail), 2020, Oil on Canvas, 43 x 51”

In Mulhern's work, there is a tension between the formal and non-verbal narrative. His figures are not too literal in that they diminish the more abstract elements - shape, color, and space. He is masterful at achieving this balance. By creating a complex, layered image, Mark Mulhern draws us into a scene and its characters. "I don't set out to consciously say anything specific. Most of the time, the figures tell me what they want. I set the stage and let things play out. My responsibility as a painter is to adjust the compositional elements until it reaches some inevitable conclusion." Rose Balistreri Arts Writer Urban Milwaukee

PA I N T I N G S

Plate 1 PARTY IN THE LOIRE Oil on Linen, 60 x 70”

Plate 2 RAINING IN PARIS Oil on Linen, 60 x 70”

Plate 3

TRANSITIONING INTO EVENING Oil on Linen, 60 x 70”

Plate 4 DECADENT PARTY Oil on Linen, 60 x 70”

Plate 5: ARRANGING THE CAKES, Oil on Linen, 17 x 23”

Plate 6: MODERN FASHION, Oil on Linen, 17 x 23”

Plate 7 BIRTHDAY CAKE Oil on Linen, 37 x 43”

Plate 8 PARTY SETTING Oil on Linen, 36 x 36”

Plate 9 SOCIAL DISTANCING Oil on Linen, 66 x 78”

Plate 10 UNTITLED (RED DRESS) Oil on Linen, 51 x 63”

WO R K S O N PA P E R

Plate 11 DESCENDING ON THE TABLE Ink and Gouache on Paper,43 x 51”

Plate 12 PARTY IN FULL SWING Mixed Media on Paper, 59 x 78”

Plate 13: GATHERING WITH TOPIARY, Gouache on Paper, 15 x 22”

Plate 14: CELEBRATION TOAST, Gouache on Paper, 15 x 22”

Plate 15 GRAND PARTY Ink and Gouache on Paper, 51 ¼ x 43”

Plate 16 EVENING COCKTAIL PARTY Gouache on Paper, 11 x 15”

Plate 17: EVENING GATHERING, Monotype on Paper, 41 x 30”

Plate 18: PARTY PREPARATION, Monotype on Paper, 41 x 30”

Plate 19: SPRINGTIME STROLL, Monotype with Mixed Media on Paper, 41 x 30”

Plate 20: UNTITLED (PARTY WITH TOPIARY), Monotype on Paper, 41 x 30”

MARK MULHERN BORN

1951, Portage, WI

EDUCATION 1978 1976-77 1973

M.F.A., University of Wisconsin-Madison Studied in Paris with S.W. Hayter B.F.A., Layton School of Art, Milwaukee, WI

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2020 Gatherings, Tory Folliard Gallery, Milwaukee, WI 2018 Mostly People, Tory Folliard Gallery, Milwaukee, WI 2016 The Space Between, Tory Folliard Gallery, Milwaukee, WI 2014 New Works, Tory Folliard Gallery, Milwaukee, WI Pulling Back the Curtain, Museum of Wisconsin Art, West Bend, WI 2013 Current Tendencies III: Artists from Milwaukee, Haggerty Museum of Art, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI 2011 New Work, Tory Folliard Gallery, Milwaukee, WI 2008 New Paintings, Tory Folliard Gallery, Milwaukee, WI 2007 Arrivals & Departures, Corbett vs. Dempsey Gallery, Chicago, IL 2005 Cats and Dogs, Tory Folliard Gallery, Milwaukee, WI 2004 New Work, Tory Folliard Gallery, Milwaukee, WI palmbeachcontemporary04, Solo booth with Tory Folliard Gallery Mary Nohl Fellowship Award Show, INOVA Galleries, Milwaukee, WI 2002 People, Places and Things, Tory Folliard Gallery, Milwaukee, WI 2001 Monotypes, Olsen Larsen Gallery, Des Moines, IA Monotype Portraits, Quad Graphics, Sussex, WI

2000 1998 1997 1996 1994 1993 1992 1989 1987 1986 1985 1984

Judith Rocht Gallery, Chicago, IL Monotype Portraits, Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago, IL Tory Folliard Gallery, Milwaukee, WI Tory Folliard Gallery, Milwaukee, WI The Delicate Prey, Milwaukee Art Museum, WI Percival Gallery, Des Moines, IA Peltz Gallery, Milwaukee, WI Natasha Nicholson Gallery, Madison, WI Dean Jensen Gallery, Milwaukee, WI Madison Art Center, Madison, WI Struve Gallery, Chicago, IL Allan Frumkin Gallery, New York, NY Frumkin/Struve Gallery, Chicago, IL

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2020 The Dog Show, Tory Folliard Gallery, Milwaukee, WI 2019 Nature Morte, Tory Folliard Gallery, Milwaukee, WI 2018 30th Anniversary Exhibition, Tory Folliard Gallery, Milwaukee, WI 2017 The Salon Show, Tory Folliard Gallery, Milwaukee, WI 2016 Wallflowers, Tory Folliard Gallery, Milwaukee, WI 2015 The Salon Show, Tory Folliard Gallery, Milwaukee, WI 2014 Summer in Wisconsin, Tory Folliard Gallery, Milwaukee, WI 2013 Current Tendencies, Haggerty Museum of Art, Milwaukee, WI 25th Anniversary Exhibition, Tory Folliard Gallery, Milwaukee, WI Contemporary Prints, Tory Folliard Gallery, Milwaukee, WI 2011 Summer in Wisconsin, Tory Folliard Gallery, Milwaukee, WI 2010 Apple Pie: Symbols of Americana in MMoCA's Permanent Collection, Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, WI 2009 Figurative Prints: 1980s Rewind, Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, WI

2009

2008 2006 2005

2003 2002 1997 1995 1992 1989 1988

1986

1985

From One, Many: Contemporary Wisconsin Prints, Museum of Wisconsin Art, West Bend, WI Summer in Wisconsin, Tory Folliard Gallery, Milwaukee, WI 20th Anniversary Exhibition, Tory Folliard Gallery, Milwaukee, WI Collector’s Series I, Tory Folliard Gallery, Milwaukee, WI Wisconsin Arts Board Award Show, Wisconsin Academy Gallery, Madison, WI Sherry Leedy, Kansas City, MO Palmbeach3, Palm Beach, FL through Tory Folliard Gallery, Milwaukee, WI Art Chicago, Tory Folliard Gallery, Milwaukee, WI People, Places, and Things, Crossman Gallery, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Wisconsin Triennial, Madison Art Center, Madison, WI Art Chicago, Tory Folliard Gallery, Milwaukee, WI Recent Acquisitions, Milwaukee Art Museum, WI Semblances, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY Tory Folliard Gallery, Milwaukee, WI The Unique Touch: Monotypes, Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, WI Zolla Lieberman Gallery, Chicago, IL Wisconsin Individuals, Organized by Milwaukee Art Museum, 333 Wacker Dr, Chicago, IL Dean Jensen Gallery, Milwaukee, WI Spaces Gallery, Cleveland, OH Notes from the Underground, Frumkin Gallery, New York, NY Made in America: The Great Lakes States, Alternative Museum, NY, NY Artemesia, Chicago, IL The Neo-Figure: An International Survey, Yares Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ Figure, Form, Content, Frumkin/Struve Gallery, Chicago, IL

SELECTED ARTICLES/CATALOGS Auer, James. 2002. “Mark Mulhern.” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, October 30, 2002, Section E Bonesteel, Michael. 1983. “Mark Mulhern at Frumkin/Struve.” Art in America 71 (No. 10), 231-33 Gimelson, Deborah. 1991. “New York’s Surprising Market for Contemporary Monotypes,” Architectural Digest, November 1991, 90-94. Milwaukee Art Museum. 1994. The Delicate Prey-Monotypes by Mark Mulhern. Text by Sue Taylor. Milwaukee Art Museum. 1982. New Figuration in America. Text by Russell Bowman & Peter Schjeldahl. Milwaukee Art Museum. 1988. The Unique Touch, Monotypes. Text by Janet Treacy. Milwaukee Art Museum. 1988. 100 Years of Wisconsin Art. Text by Dean Sobel and Janet Treacy. Shepherd Express. 2002. “An Artist’s Life in Milwaukee-Mark Mulhern’s Stubborn Commitment.” Shepherd Express, October 17, 2002, 23. Tory Folliard Gallery. 2018. Mostly People. Text by Mark Mulhern and T.L. Solien Tory Folliard Gallery. 2020. Gatherings. Text by Rose Balistreri and Fred Stonehouse SELECTED GRANTS AND AWARDS 2014 Wisconsin Visual Art Lifetime Achievement Award 2011 The Alfred & Trafford Klots International Artist's Residency, Brittany, France (Summer) 2004 Mary L. Nohl Fellowship 1992 Wisconsin Arts Board Project Grant 1984 Chicago Union League, Chicago, IL 1977 Rotary International, Atelier 17, Paris, France

SELECTED COLLECTIONS Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, Madison, WI Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, WI The Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, France Chazen Museum of Art, Madison, WI Newberry Library, Chicago, IL Marshall Erdman & Associates, Madison, WI McDonald’s Corporation, Oakbrook, IL Northwestern Mutual Insurance, Milwaukee, WI Richard and Ethel Herzfeld Foundation, Milwaukee, WI Quarles & Brady, LLP, Milwaukee, WI Quad Graphics, Milwaukee, WI Bank of Kaukauna, Kaukauna, WI UW Hospital & Clinics, Madison, WI

Mark Mulhern in his studio 59

Published on the occasion of the exhibition

MARK MULHERN GATHERINGS Copyright © Tory Folliard Gallery, 2020 Catalog Design by Allen Witkowski Text Editors: Rebecca Sidman and Allen Witkowski Cover: Party in the Loire(detail), 2020, Oil on Linen, 60 x 70” Inside Back Cover: Party Setting (detail), 2020, Oil on Linen, 36 x 36”

TORY FOLLIARD GALLERY 233. N. MILWAUKEE ST. MILWAUKEE, WI 53202 (414) 273-7311 tor yfolliard.com

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