John Mullin: Mortal Traces

Carl Berg Gallery is pleased to present new photographs by Los Angeles-based artist John Mullin in his first solo exhibition at the gallery. Mullin has an extensive background as a photographer including a stint as personal assistant to Henri Cartier-Bresson. His work has been exhibited widely and is in numerous collections including the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Mullin will present a new series of photographs based on Los Angeles’ nighttime skies in an exhibition titled “ Mortal Traces.” Mullin has investigated the urban landscape in cities throughout the world through a body of work that captures a city under unusual circumstances. His photos reveal a quality of light and space that gives them a Vermeer-like atmosphere.

His newest body of photographs captures the Los Angeles sky at night revealing a hidden world that is best revealed through the camera’s ability to capture light. Mullin shoots with medium format film and uses its light capturing qualities to their greatest end result.
His photographs which are mostly unaltered uncovered a sky that is busy with planes and helicopters circling and star and planets moving along the sky. The sky also contains light that emanates from the city in an ambient glow of saturated color that may remind one of the aurora borealis.

Mullin’s works are a unique blend of abstraction and representation that can be found in plain sight but is not often seen. Through his unique insight he is able to describe the beauty that is front of us.