Shawn Mcnulty

Shawn McNulty is a mid-career modern painter from Minneapolis who has become well-known for his signature textured abstract paintings composed of acrylic and pumice. He describes his work as “exploring the relationship between man-made structures and the natural world; the idea of recognizable shapes and structures living within irrational thoughts and emotions. Thick layers of acrylic and pumice and are applied, scraped off, reapplied, sliced off, etc.  There’s a technique I call ‘scuffling’ which involves a repetitive chopping motion with the palette knife resulting in approximate parallel lines.   There are usually little jagged characters that take form in the negative space that I call ‘skirmishes’ which become the kinetic energy of the piece.  The color fields interplay with each other, attempting to find common ground resulting in complex and interesting edges.  The process continues until a solution is found, always applying and mixing paint directly on the canvas, scraping away layers to reveal the ghostly characters of the previous.”

Gregory Scott, art critic at Minnesota Monthly, stated: “There’s something about Shawn McNulty’s color fields that won’t let you relax completely. A bit of rough play with the palette kni...

St. Johns University (Minnesota)

"Striations" Solo Show Rosalux Gallery Minneapolis April 2018

"Abstract" Group Show at Minnetonka Art Center - Minnetonka, MN October 2017

"SSA Annual Exhibition" Society of Scottish Artists - Edinburgh, United Kingdom - Jan 2016

"Art in America" curated by Julie Torres during Art Basel - Miami, FL Dec 2015

"Nuts & Bits" New Work by Shawn McNulty
Rosalux Gallery - Minneapolis, MN
Nov 2015

"Arte Internazionale" Exhibition in Matera, Italy
November-December 2014

"Scuffle & Scrape" New Work by Shawn McNulty
Rosalux Gallery - Minneapolis, MN
March 2012