Mark Mullin: Something The Wind Blew In

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Mark Mullin, "hiding place," 2022

oil and acrylic on canvas, 72" x 72"

Mark Mullin: Something The Wind Blew In

something the wind blew in,  the title of Mark Mullin's new exhibition at Paul Kuhn Gallery is more than the poetic licence of the artist. The tile is based on the artist's absence from his studio during the many months of isolation and chaos. The artist's own words best describe both his sense of loss and the inspiration for his new beginning.

"Many months had passed without me being able to get back in the studio, a mixture of exhaustion and anxiety had kept it shuttered. Lockdowns and everyday routine had been turned upside down and I had never gone this long without painting. Eventualy I adjusted and returned. My own creative space felt oddly foreign, lonely and abandoned. I had forgotten that months prior I had used my studio as space for my daughters fourth birthday. Remnants of the party were still sprinkled about: some deflated balloons, old dry birthday cake and ripped streamers humbly decorated the walls and floor. The paintings that were started before the unexpected hiatus had been lying in limbo, they contained forms and ideas that now felt mute. The studio air was very warm and stale.  "How do I begin? What was I even thinking when I started these "new" works?  Where do I pick up?” These were my thoughts as I stared at the interrupted canvases.  It felt like years had passed. Dismayed and perplexed, it was clear that I needed to open a window.  A  breeze blew through the space as some crumpled party crafts fell across a canvas that lay on the floor.   As I stared I thought, “maybe this is where I'll start ….. "