Judith Mullen
A Good Wander II
Solo Exhibition - Cultivator at Bray Grove Farm
Memorial Day, Monday, May 27, 2019, 2-5pm. Please rsvp.
Cultivator is pleased to present A Good Wander II, an outdoor exhibition by artist, Judith Mullen at Bray Grove Farm. During her uncharted walks in the woods, she leaves the chaos of her day to expand her artistic concepts. Trees symbolize the cycle of life, with their components providing tangible media from which she sculpts. The Eternal Tree, Ashvattha, is a yogic and spiritual symbol consisting of an upside-down tree, rooted in the skies; while the fruits of the trees represent inner growth. Mullen's site-specific sculptures on the farm reinterpret these ideas, beckoning others to share in a good wander.
Mullen writes this about her pieces:
Wandering, the deliberate moving off a set course, is about non-conforming and the possibility of staying open to a new way of experiencing everyday challenges. From my earliest memories the physical act of walking and wandering has been intertwined into my daily experiences and has provided a respite from the chaos and demands of living in our fast -paced culture. It is the getting lost and at some point finding my way back that new possibilities occur.
A good wander is when I find myself hiking through a forested area far away from the beeps, clicks, horns, sirens, ring tones and other minutia of daily urban life. Over the past few years the tree and all of its by-products has made its way into my studio and presented itself as a metaphor for the human experience. Inverted tree branches which grow up from the soil, also known as the Upside- Down Tree, speaks to the power of quiet and meditation as the source of cultivating wisdom and knowledge. In Yoga this tree is called the Eternal Tree, Aschvattha, where we are guided to stop reaching for fruit outside of ourselves and turn our attention to within.
In a Good Wander II both the upside down tree and the low hanging fruit will be installed. Here the abstract and referential will invoke the quirky mania of contemporary culture balanced by the solitude of the natural world in which the viewer may wander into for a visit.
Please rsvp and join us on Monday, May 27th from 2-5pm for art and conversation along with a tour of the farm. Bray Grove Farm is located 70 miles southwest of Chicago in Grundy County. To confirm your attendance and receive directions and parking information, email.
Growing up in the Midwest, Judith Mullen divided her time between the city and a family farm in Northern Wisconsin. The juxtapositions found in these two divergent landscapes continues to inform her current work as a painter and sculptor. Sculptures and installations evolve out of the painting process by interweaving recycled studio material into objects and debris found while hiking in the forest. Through this ritual of making, Mullen explores the nature/culture divide, motion and space, and the process of transformation.
Mullen has been an exhibiting artist for the past 18 years. Her paintings, sculptures and installations have been shown throughout the United States. She received her BFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and is currently a MFA Candidate in Painting and Drawing at SAIC. Mullen is represented by Linda Warren Project, Chicago, IL and Lois Lambert Gallery, Santa Monica, CA.
Click on the thumbnails below to see larger images of Judith Mullen's outdoor installations.
