![Q&A [Question and Artist]: Perin Mahler](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/58bb213420099e5b48771d3b/1585207854549-ZJVOSZ2L8QVK70FGTPH5/29.jpg)
Q&A [Question and Artist]: Perin Mahler
[Brea Art Gallery]: How did you become interested in this type of large scale work?
[Perin Mahler]: I have always been interested in the immersive qualities and complexity of large scale narrative painting in art history, particularly of the Baroque period. Like many artists, I was inspired by Caravaggio and his followers, who integrated that complexity into a kind of independent painting space that was as much a representation of the mind as it was a naturalistic depiction of the world. I still take cues from his strong chiaroscuro.
I was also deeply influenced by the work of the figurative painters that emerged in the 1980s and 1990s including Jerome Witkin, Vincent Desiderio, Bo Bartlett and others. Seeing their work proved to me that an artist could make figurative work that dealt with contemporary subject matter on a grand physical and conceptual scale while paying homage to artists of the past.
I had been interested in making these figurative narratives myself, but couldn’t find a methodology for it until I started working with digital photography and Photoshop to mock up compositions. That and my interest in depicting personal history (see below) resulted in big paintings.
[Brea Art Gallery]: How would you describe your series “Autobiographies”?
[Perin Mahler]: The birth of my son in 2004 shifted my notion of what was important in art. I began to think of my life experiences as important subject matter in ways that I hadn’t before. The idea that my life was connected to another person in such a fundamental way pushed me to think of my other relationships and the stories that were associated with them. At the same time, the quality and affordability of digital photography made it possible for me to begin using photographic references for the first time. This enabled me to create complex, multiple figure compositions to realize the subject matter that I had in mind.
I began by recreating scenes from my life that distilled particular emotional experiences as a kind of journalism. Later, the paintings went more inward as elements in them became more emblematic of my state of mind. This was manifested particularly as piles of objects that took over the compositions and overwhelmed the figures in them. This work became less journalistic and more allegorical, but the subject matter was still my personal life.
More recently, I have been moving away from the strictly autobiographical content. In a series titled “Storytellers” I have been exploring the ways that narratives influence culture, history and individual behavior (including my own). Another group of paintings investigates psychological dissociation through the fracturing of form. These works are still personal, but are more general and less specific to me than earlier pieces.
[Brea Art Gallery]: As an educator, what is your most common bit of advice for young artists?
[Perin Mahler]: If I had to narrow it down to one piece of advice, I would say “tell the truth”. It is important to follow contemporary trends in art and to try to respond to those in one way or another, but your work will be empty if it isn’t fueled by your particular emotional experiences. When teaching advanced students, including graduate students, one of the most difficult challenges is to get them to make work that is personal, particularly work that is based on difficult situations (which are invariably the most potent and energetic sources for content). Students are reluctant to do that because they are embarrassed, or they don’t think that their life experiences would be of interest to any viewers. I try to reassure them that making authentic representations of their life is a way of finding commonality with others in the world. The subject matter that an artist thinks of as too intimate or weird will invariably reach people who have had similar experiences.
[Brea Art Gallery]: What great advice for all of us! Who in your life encourages you to create?
[Perin Mahler]: My wife Melanie, who is also an artist, is my chief encourager and critic and is also depicted in many of my paintings. She is in many ways an ideal viewer: someone who is educated and experienced in art but can look at my work with a fresh eye and catch things that I have been blind to. She also has good ideas and has made many fruitful suggestions that have made their way into my paintings. She also suggested that I apply to the Brea Gallery competition, so I have her to thank for that as well!
[Brea Art Gallery]: Wow - that’s so cool - thanks, Melanie! So, who are your top 3 favorite artists at the moment?
[Perin Mahler]: I have been drawn to the work of eastern European artists for the past few years. Many of these artists, including Neo Rauch, Daniel Pitin and Adrien Ghenie, were trained in academic traditions but moved on to personal interpretations of history once the Soviet block fell apart. I enjoy and am inspired by their willingness to experiment with the traditions of realism to reflect contemporary culture’s relationship with the past. My favorite artist of the moment, Justin Mortimer, is a British artist who shares a lot of qualities with these painters. Mortimer also sees traditional approaches to figure painting through the contemporary lens of dissociation and narrative fracturing. He is a great example of an artist who pays homage to the past but uses some historical methods to make work that is highly individual and innovative.
[Brea Art Gallery]: What has been the worst job you’ve had?
[Perin Mahler]: When I was in graduate school in New York, I worked as a decorative painter, which amounts to fancy house painting techniques to mimic the qualities of wood and marble. I actually ran a business doing this later, before I started teaching. But one of the people I worked for in New York was a really obnoxious boss, so I kind of sabotaged the work I did with him until he fired me. I think that was the only time I was fired from a job.
[Brea Art Gallery]: What’s next and where else, besides Brea Gallery, can we see your work?
[Perin Mahler]: Our current state of uncertainty has put exhibition plans in question, but I recently had a solo show at Manifest Gallery in Cincinnati and my work is archived on their site. Besides that and the Brea show, I will be continually updating my website and my newly launched Instagram account. I intend to spend the coming months working on a new body of work with some new approaches to subject matter and execution, so look for that on these platforms.
Perin Mahler
Perin Mahler is an educator and fine artist. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from Trinity College, Hartford and an MFA in Painting from Queens College, CUNY in New York City. Over a twenty-year career in education, he has taught at several colleges and universities including The University of Cincinnati, The Art Academy of Cincinnati, Kendall College of Art and Design in Grand Rapids, Michigan and Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan. Most recently he has Chaired the MFA program in painting and drawing at Laguna College of Art and Design. His work is represented in several museum collections as well as prominent private collections. He has had numerous group and one-person exhibitions around the country. In 2009, he was honored to be a finalist in the Outwin Boochever portrait competition at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC. His current body of work, titled Autobiographies, is a series of large single and multi-figure paintings dealing with personal subjects including narratives from domestic and professional experiences.
Thanks so much to Perin Mahler for his time to answer these questions and letting us get to know him better!
Be sure to check out Perin’s solo exhibition display as a part of Brea Gallery’s Made in California with dates to be announced! Until you can see Perin’s work in person, feel free to visit his website here.
