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.
One of the top figurative artists working today, Mark Mulhern portrays people and everyday objects in their surroundings. Carefully positioned figures appear natural as they exchange subtle gazes and implicit gestures. Liberated from detail, these paintings expose moments of everyday life that tap into the viewer’s mind. Complementing the expressiveness of the figurative works are the artist's simplified abstractions of shape, color and the containment of light.
Selected Public 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 Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, France; Chazen Museum of Art, Madison, WI; Marshall Erdman & Associates, Madison, WI; McDonald’s Corporation, Oakbrook, IL; Richard and Ethel Herzfeld Foundation, Milwaukee, WI; Quarles & Brady, LLP, Milwaukee, WI; Quad Graphics, Milwaukee, WI; UW Hospital & Clinics, Madison, WI
