“Kathleen’s paintings are laden with vibrant colours, reminiscent of the full blooms she depicts. Kathleen paints fluidly, employing a lively palette. Her artworks exhibit dynamic compositions, drawing the viewer into the heart of these floral worlds.”
Biography
Kathleen Mullaniff, born in 1957 in Ireland, is a figurative painter. She trained at the University of the Arts, Camberwell College of Art and Design (BA Fine Art Painting), and the University of London, Goldsmiths College (MA Fine Art). She has exhibited her work both nationally and internationally. Exhibitions have included ‘Paisley: exploding the teardrop’ at PM Gallery and House, which features paintings derived from the Paisley Museum collection, and ‘Collect’ at Hastings Museum and Art Gallery. Recently, she co-curated ‘Garland’ at MYB Textiles and ‘Textile and Memory’ at The Dick Institute, Scotland, as well as participating in the Royal Academy Summer Show. Other exhibitions include ‘Fully Awake’ at The Holden Art Gallery, Manchester; Hurriers: Poor on the Roll at APT Gallery and Five Years, London; and ‘Pull my Thread’ at Brantwood House, the home of John Ruskin. Kathleen is a member of the London Group and recently participated in ‘The London Group Annual’ at the Royal Water Colour Society in London. Her floral paintings have been featured in projects within the UK hotel and workplace sector, including the Corinthia Hotel London, Belmond Cadogan Hotel London, and the Stafford London. She is represented with Artiq at the Old War Office, London, The Whitley, London, and Convene Sandcroft St Paul’s, London. Kathleen was a Senior Lecturer on BA Fine Art at Middlesex University from 1990 to 2023. She is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA)
Floral Paintings
Artist and painter Kathleen Mullaniff has an obsession with her garden—an obsession that is intrinsically linked to the envelope of her studio. Visitors are invited into the garden and eventually through a garland of soft summer hues that surrounds the entrance to her studio. The borders are alive with colourful plants now. But as one crosses the threshold into the studio, these same vibrant colours are unveiled through lines and marks in a series of expressive and dynamic paintings on canvas and works on paper. Kathleen collects seedpods, branches, twigs, dried petals, and leaves imported into the studio from the garden, salvaged fragments that serve as the source for this series of bold paintings. Kathleen’s newest work, “Where Stepping into the Garden”, has re-invigorated and affirmed the notion of place—the local close-up, an intimate commune with the joy and melancholy of change, the micro into the macro.
