By Eric Licas
The Review
An octopus enjoying a bubble bath, mermaids, dinosaurs and other lighthearted scenes from the mind of local artist Anne E. Muller burst from her imagination and out of their picture frames in a new exhibit on display at the South Pasadena Arts Council Gallery, now through May 18.
The exhibit, “Whimsies,” features about 20 pieces created over the past four years. It’s Muller’s first solo showing in a gallery.
“I just try and find local talent, and I’m also trying to give people a first show and get them started,” said Blue Trimarchi, SPARC board member and curator for the gallery.
Though painting is a relatively new endeavor for Muller, she has a solid background as a creative professional. She earned her degree in the arts from Cal State University, Long Beach, and made a living for more than 30 years as a designer creating personalized invitations.
That business was hit hard during the pandemic, prohibiting in-person gatherings. Muller’s mother was also struggling with dementia at that time, and the artist became her primary caregiver.
“I took drawing and painting in college, but … I hadn’t painted in a really long time. So I picked up a brush. And not only was it a journey, but it made me feel a different kind of connectedness to creativity.”
Muller said painting became “like therapy” to her. Focusing on fine art instead of her graphic design business gave her more room to explore and express her own creativity instead of a client’s wishes.
Most of the scenes depicted in Muller’s paintings were conjured to help her retain a sense of her own identity during a challenging time in her life, or just to lighten her mood. These include depictions of vintage wooden toys, playful sea creatures or a dinosaur on a wooden stool.
A few currently on display at the SPARC Gallery honor the memory of Muller’s late mother. One shows a vase filled with her mom’s favorite flowers. Another is an image of their family’s cat snoozing belly-up on a couch with its paws crossed across its chest.
The works are all crafted with thick, painterly strokes that add a three-dimensional layer of depth to Muller’s images. Elements of her work as a graphic designer, specifically the use of mixed media to reach out to viewers and draw them into her vision, still shine through in her paintings.
Muller attached a disconnected electrical plug to a painting of an octopus bathing in a cake mixer so viewers would know that the appliance is unplugged and the eight-tentacled invertebrate is not in any danger. A small handheld net filled with toy goldfish sits atop a painting of mermaids, almost inviting people to reach into the artwork and scoop up a new addition for their own aquariums. Dandelion seeds being blown away by an electric fan seemingly lift off another painting’s canvas and past its borders, dotting one edge of the painting’s frame.
“You can see a lot more of the textures of paints up close,” Claire Foster, one of the people who came to see Muller’s exhibit on opening day on Saturday, said. “You can see a lot more subtle detail, just stuff that gets missed when you take a picture of it. It’s far better in person.”
The SPARC Gallery is held inside the South Pasadena Chamber of Commerce office, located at 1121 Mission St. Gallery hours will vary after the March 16 opening. To schedule visits on other dates during the run of the show, contact curator Trimarchi at (626) 676-4195. Admission is free.
First published in the March 22 print issue of the South Pasadena Review.
