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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

  • Matt Mullican, Untitled (Five Worlds mapped on a sphere B), 2019

    oilstick, gouache on canvas, rubbing
    78.74 x 78.74 in (200 x 200 cm)

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  • Matt Mullican, Untitled (all I see are light patterns in 5 colors), 2018

    oil stick rubbing and gouache on canvas
    78.74 x 78.74 in (200 x 200 cm)

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  • Matt Mullican, Untitled (Tin Tin World Framed on top of World and Sign), 2018

    oilstick, acrylic on canvas, rubbing
    78.74 x 157.48 in (200 x 400 cm)

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  • Matt Mullican, Untitled (Dead Man Nr. 5), 2018

    oilstick, gouache on canvas, rubbing
    59.06 x 39.37 in (150 x 100 cm)

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  • Matt Mullican, Untitled (Cell), 2018

    oilstick, gouache on canvas, rubbing
    78.74 x 157.48 in (200 x 400 cm)

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  • Matt Mullican, Untitled (all I see are light patterns in green/elements), 2018

    oil stick rubbing and gouache on canvas
    78.74 x 78.74 in (200 x 200 cm)

  • ×
  • Matt Mullican, Untitled (Tin Tin World framed to Elements in Center), 2018

    oilstick, acrylic on canvas, rubbing
    78.74 x 157.48 in (200 x 400 cm)

  • ×
  • Matt Mullican, Untitled (Subjective within Subjects), 2018

    oilstick, acrylic on canvas, rubbing
    78.74 x 157.48 in (200 x 400 cm)

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  • Matt Mullican, Untitled (all I see are light patterns; black and white), 2018

    oil stick rubbing and gouache on canvas
    78.74 x 78.74 in (200 x 200 cm)

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  • Matt Mullican, Untitled (Small Intestine), 2018

    oilstick, gouache on canvas, rubbing
    78.74 x 157.48 in (200 x 400 cm)

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  • Matt Mullican, Untitled (Sign), 2017

    acrylic, oilstick on canvas, rubbing
    55.12 x 78.74 in (140 x 200 cm)

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  • Matt Mullican, Untitled (Subjective), 2017

    acrylic, oilstick on canvas, rubbing
    55.12 x 78.74 in (140 x 200 cm)

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