Reimagining the Page: Marlon Mullen’s Bold Visual Language

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If you haven’t yet seen Projects: Marlon Mullen, this is your last chance—on view through April 20. Marlon Mullen’s work is instantly recognizable for its vibrant colors, rich textures, and unique reinterpretations of art media. For the past four decades, Mullen has created his striking acrylic paintings at NIAD Art Center in Richmond, California—a space that champions artists with developmental disabilities.

Drawing inspiration from art magazines like Artforum and Art in America, Mullen transforms familiar covers and pages into abstract visual poems. He doesn’t just replicate these layouts; he deconstructs and reassembles them. Typography blurs into form. Barcodes become focal points. Elements are repeated, erased, and reframed until they speak in his distinct painterly language.

This exhibition captures a decade of Mullen’s artistic exploration, showing how print media can become a powerful tool for reimagining contemporary art. More than just a tribute to design and editorial aesthetics, Mullen’s work invites us to see art through a different lens—bold, intuitive, and deeply personal.