karl mullen

Karl Mullen, born nov 26 1954, is a self taught painter.

He grew up In Ireland under the Dublin mountains with five sisters and two brothers. He did lousy at school and left at an early age to do his own thing. He moved from Europe to the USA in 1976 but returns to Ireland as often as possible, to recharge his batteries...and get a good cup of tea.

He has played in rock n roll bands, sold flowers, washed dishes, worked at a preschool, gave blood, worked at a music venue, sold hot dogs, fixed chimneys, been unemployed, driven trucks, short order cooked, been a movie extra, played in folk bands, performed music for theatre & dance companies, waited tables, worked check out at supermarkets, sold art on the street, done voice over, spray painted...... and many others. These days he's again at a music venue and paints daily at a studio in the Italian Market district in Philadelphia.

From not really knowing what to do with all the cool stuff art stores sell, he has combined an odd assortment of materials to create highly unique colorful paintings on paper. In the past he has painted on just about every surface...including himself, and car hoods, bricks, books, clothes, buildings, steel mills, old windows, shoes and bottles. Until fairly recently there was not much interest in his work.

His paintings tell a colorful story of Irish poetry, dreams, mythology, whisky & love and an invented world where everything is possible. They can be seen annually at the outsider art fair in New York City, the Intuit Show in Chicago, Folk Fest Atlanta and the Outsiders Outside in Herbert, MI. His work has also been seen in France and Ireland and he now has paintings in the permanent collection of the Horn Museum and the Polk Museum.

Karl is also a musician and uses much the same approach of making things up for himself.

Karl Mullen’s artwork is exclusively represented by Duff Lindsay and The Lindsay Gallery in Columbus Ohio.

Please contact us if you are interested in Karl Mullen's Paintings.

Lindsay Gallery: Folk and outsider art, in Columbus.