Daniel Mullen is a longlisted artist in the Aesthetica Art Prize, and his work will be published in the Aesthetica Art Prize Annual this spring. Mullen聽has described the backbone of his artistic influence as a mixture of Dutch architecture and formalistic, abstract painting. Given the preoccupation with space, or rather the emptiness of space, in Mullen鈥檚 own work and ideas, it is not surprising that architect Gerrit Rietveld, a leader of the De Stijl movement, held a critical role in the development of his aesthetic and imagery. Mullen has always sought to establish a sense of transparent weightlessness to his paintings, 鈥渢he scale (of which) is left to the imagination of the viewer.鈥 While his paintings therefore possess a certain surface reality, the entirety of their structure is impossible to fully realise.
These themes are epitomised in Mullen鈥檚 Monument to the Future, the聽longlisted piece in the Aesthetica Art Prize. At first glance, Mullen鈥檚 use of bold colour and domination of space evokes a sense architectural structure, stability, strength. It is only upon further inspection that we notice how thin and translucent the painting is, the strength of the piece giving way to a sense of fragility and instability. We realise that our first impression was an illusion all along, and in doing so, Mullen challenges our very idea of perception. As he puts it: 鈥淚 paint the illusion of the illusion, like the shadows on the wall in the analogy of Plato鈥檚 cave鈥.
The Aesthetica Art Prize 2016 is now open for entries, accepting submissions across a range of media including photography, sculpture, installation, painting and artists鈥 film. Prizes include 拢5,000 courtesy of , publication in 100 contemporary artists, 拢250 art supplies vouchers courtesy of and art books courtesy of . Selected artists are also showcased on Aesthetica鈥檚 online channels.
For more information and to enter the Aesthetica Art Prize 2016, visit
Credits
1. Daniel Mullen,聽Monument to the Future聽(2015). Courtesy of the artist and the Aesthetica Art Prize.
