Thérèse Mulgrew
ARTIST STATEMENT
My work is an attempt to explore vulnerability and desire through narrative portraiture. I am drawn to shadow and light as a means of portraying how we present ourselves to the world, what we choose to hide and reveal. Though I tend to paint mostly friends and family, both the still-lifes and portraits feel like autobiographical extensions of myself and my relationships. Most of the jewelry and objects rendered in the paintings are my own and in that way, feel like a further glimpse into my immediate world. Many of the paintings focus on hands, which I’ve been fascinated by since I was a kid - their character and beauty, the way they seem to tell stories and remind us that we’re human. Meanwhile, the still-lifes are a contemporary nod to classical arrangements as well as nostalgic items which relate to my upbringing. Although the main inspiration in my current work is film and cinematography, I’ve always been greatly influenced by the artists in my family. I grew up in a home where the walls were covered in original oil paintings, and whether I was aware of it or not at the time, I think their presence had a substantial impact on me. The paintings in this show are meant to honor that influence.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Thérèse Mulgrew was born in Iowa in 1991. She graduated in 2013 from the University of Iowa with a degree in English. Immediately after, Thérèse moved to New York and began her career in the fashion industry as a stylist assistant and producer for Art + Commerce, Milk Studios, Marc Jacobs, among others. She took classes at the New York Studio School and the Art Students League of New York between 2017 and 2019. She concentrated on writing and drawing until she finally found painting in 2019 and has since created a substantial body of work, exhibiting in group and solo exhibitions locally and nationally. She currently lives and works in Chicago, Illinois.
