Matt Mullican
Since the 1970s, US artist Matt Mullican has been interested in models for explaining the world. He has developed a complex system of symbols consisting of various pictograms and colors as a means of tackling the question of the structure of the world, and with his system he aims to portray in symbols every aspect of the human condition in different combinations.
Every color has a specific symbolic value attached to it. For example, green stands for material, blue for the everyday world, yellow for ideas, white and black for language and red for the subjective.
The model of perception that Mullican calls the theory of the five worlds serves him as a system of order for his method of working as an artist. It illustrates the relationship between the world and its representation. The artist is particularly interested in how we charge symbols and systems of symbols with meaning. —Nikolaus Bischoff
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oilstick and acrylic on canvas
78.74 x 78.74 in (200 x 200 cm) -
oilstick on canvas, rubbing | 4 parts, 100 x 100 cm each total 200 x 200 cm
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Acrylic and oil stick rubbing on canvas | 2 parts, total image 200 x 400 cm
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Suite of multiple-colored traditionally processed and hand-painted terra-cotta tiles, produced by Viùva Lamego, Sintra, Portugal, 2022, housed in a wooden box | 5 parts, each tile 14 x 14 cm | Edition of 64
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archival digital print, oilstick on canvas | 8 parts, each 37.5 x 53 x 2 cm
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oilstick, gouache on canvas, rubbing
78.74 x 78.74 in (200 x 200 cm) -
oilstick on canvas, rubbing
78.74 x 78.74 in (200 x 200 cm) -
oilstick, gouache on canvas, rubbing | 2 parts, total 200 x 400 x 4
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oilstick and acrylic on canvas, rubbing
75.2 x 48.82 in (191 x 124 cm) -
oil stick and acrylic on canvas
75.2 x 48.82 in (191 x 124 cm) -
acrylic, oil on canvas | each 244 x 122 cm
192.13 x 96.06 in (488 x 244 cm) -
bronze cast
15.75 x 16.14 in (40 x 41 cm)