The KOH Library and Cultural Center is honored to showcase the eye catching and distinctive artwork of painter Michael Mulcahy. Michael grew up in southern California and the Midwest. After receiving a literature degree at Occidental College, he lived in Ireland and the San Francisco Bay Area. His work is held in several private collections nationwide.
Michael’s distinct style shows the influence of pop artists and Expressionist painters. Other influences include the cartoons of Walt Disney and post-Expressionists like Georges Rouault and Kees van Dongen. Michael is also inspired by painters who balance line with color, such as Thiebaud, Diebenkorn, Hopper, and Scholder. Michael recalls when he found the style he wanted to hone: “I vividly remember a day when I was a kid visiting the Chicago Art Institute. I spent several hours going back and forth between Seurat’s ‘Sunday on the Grande Jatte’ and Ad Reinhardt’s ‘Black Painting.’ This is when I really understood what painting could be and how I found my style.”
Michael’s paintings are acrylic on canvas. The translucent nature of the medium allows the artist to work the paint in luminous layers. Working his canvas flat on a table or the floor, Michael captures the energy of the act of painting itself within the finished piece. “Lately I have been working quickly, often wet-on-wet, in a smaller format. My concerns are to establish the lines, often abstractedly or even arbitrarily, and then to play with the color,” he explains. Michael has produced an extensive collection of landscapes, Western images, and cartoons, along with a beautiful series of paintings based on the Hamza.
Come to see Michael’s exciting work on exhibit at the KOH Library and Cultural Center through September 2013.
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