Joan Mullarvey
Joan Mullarvey
Mullarvey is an accomplished artist living in NE Victoria and has been the recipient of many awards and commendations, most recently selected as a finalist in the prestigious biennial Inkmasters Print Exhibition 2021, Tanks Art Centre, Cairns. Describing herself as an experimental printmaker her work at times crosses the border between painting and printmaking, creating bold and distinctive images. Mullarvey’s subject matter is primarily her local surrounds, both natural and urban. Within the layers of her works are elements drawn from overlapping beliefs and cultural ideas-revealing the similarities and shared fascinations inherent to all, exploring themes of connectiveness and expressing this in a symbolic way, her work will have different meanings to different people. Using both relief and intaglio methods allow Mullarvey to capture, the beauty, harshness and fragility of our country. She can often be seen collecting foliage from the roadside which she inks and transfers the image to paper, this process enables her to play with themes of transience and impermanence, capturing a moment in time before the beauty fades and disappears into the undergrowth. Process is a big aspect of printmaking for Mullarvey, it allows her the freedom to experiment across all forms of printmaking, which can lead her in different directions with unforeseen discoveries, creating amazing results. Mullarvey encourages the viewer to take time to explore, connect and enjoy her work, which continues to evolve and challenge her through experimentation across all areas of printmaking.
