“We are meaning-makers. We construct our own worlds, consciously or not.”
- TOBY MULLIGAN
AWARDWINNING WORK EXPRESSES A DEEP-SEATED DRIVE FOR EXPLORATION, MEANING AND HUMAN CONNECTION.
Unmistakable in style, Toby Mulligan’s distinctive contemporary originals have won him critical and public acclaim, asserting his place as a major force in British contemporary art.
When beginning work on a new piece, Mulligan does not prepare with sketches or planning, but simply starts to paint or draw This spontaneous style results in each work being intuitive, spirited and extraordinary. His mantra both as an artist and as a person is to be ‘essentially present’, being wholly receptive to the world within and without
The challenge as he sees it is to be free, clear and “as unfettered and unthinking as the day we were born Always open, always amazed”
Mulligan works in a variety of media including charcoal on paper and inks He is deeply engaged with the physical creative process so often grinds his own pigments and has been known to experiment with varnishes, wax, medieval paint recipes and rolls of wallpaper His dynamic and expressive paintings can be found in collections ranging from Mick Jagger’s French chateau to the National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh, and his portfolio of portraits includes a personal commission from Roger Federer and a BP Portrait Award selection
We've long admired the work of critically acclaimed artist Toby Mulligan, who is known for his exceptionally unique style and ambidextrous technique.
KATY COWAN, CREATIVE BOWAN
Mulligan's artistic method is entirely individual –he begins to paint or draw spontaneously without any preparatory sketching, using both hands and both sides of his brain, rational and intuitive This dialogue between his hands and two sides of his brain results in an emotional connection, an inspired process that works faster than the speed of distracting thought
Yes, I am particularly drawn to painting figures, especially nudes, as they offer the authenticity of humanity stripped bare.
TOBY MULLIGAN
For me, plain description isn’t exciting enough. It’s passive, inert, has little energy. My obsession lies within the discourse. Debate. Counter debate. Text against subtext, explored through my art but hopefully without judgement. The only fact, I believe, is that very little is absolute black and white, literally or figuratively. Life and ‘meaning’ is shade and nuance; joy, uncertainty, tragedy, hope, lust, commitment, indifference, love and mystery.
- TOBY MULLIGAN
HERE AND THERE
Conceptually and in execution, ‘ROOM X3’ is about a convergence of creative formats and technologies. Physical installation, with some familiar Mulligan motifs, then captured as 1minute AV expressions, for the ultimate purpose of exploring how fine art and multi-media can embrace the NFT medium.
Toby Mulligan’s debut NFT collection, ‘ROOM X3’, serves as a conversation in a wordless, universal language, unconcluded, open-ended. Essentially, it explores duality, the nature of connecting and not connecting. Masculinity, femininity. Our physical world. Our digital world. How we strive and succeed in connecting with each; how we struggle and fail to connect. The worlds within worlds, within a room. As Mulligan puts it best of all, “A multicellular, atomized, comic cocktail of connections and disconnections – these are the foundations on what life is to me and how, without judgement, we all have to deal with it.”
Toby Mulligan is currently represented by Clarendon Fine Art, and makes himself available for private commissions and brand ambassadorships.
Toby has made a number of films painting portraits for art brands Winsor & Newton, Liquitex and Cass Art, and his unique ambidextrous style has featured in multiple broadcast and print media.
10X PORTRAITS OF LIVING ICONS FROM THE WORLD OF CINEMA – by TOBY MULLIGAN
Cinema legend Morgan Freeman, in his own words…
“Watch an artist in action – AMAZING portrait by Toby Mulligan!”
@Morgan_Freeman
“We think we know them, or certainly something of them Their films, their ‘canon’, their profound contribution to their craft, their seemingly unique combination of character, charisma and star presence that has informed and driven their fame and following But let us revisit who and what we think we know. There is always another lens.”
- TOBY MULLIGANToby Mulligan’s ‘ICONS OF OUR TIME’ is new collection of original and unique portraits, a collection of 10 icons of cinema, faces both familiar to us all, but newly seen and rendered through the inimitable style and interpretation of an artist at the eight of his powers
These 10 portraits, currently in development, will be auctioned for charity, with 90% of proceeds donated to XXX Further details to be announced later this Summer
Following the Autumn release of Toby’s CINEMA collection, SPORT and MUSIC portrait collections are scheduled in 2024
NB: MORGAN FREEMAN sits outside the forthcoming Cinema collection and is available for purchase through Clarendon Fine Art
FOR GENERAL ENQUIRIES, COMMISSIONS, OR JUST A FRIENDLY CHAT, PLEASE DON’T HESITATE TO GET IN TOUCH.
CONTACT: SIMON@SIMONPONT.COM |
