Marlon Mullen is cleaning a microwave at the back of the room. He’s thorough. Wiping inside and out. Stacking a few kitchen supplies. Sponging his lunchbox. Every now and then he looks out over the familiar art space on 23rd Street in central Richmond, as if taking stock.
His latest painting, emerging with oranges, yellows and light blues, sits at his work table on the opposite end of the large, busy room with his paints and brushes. Eventually, Mullen, 61, heads over there and quietly resumes that work. The clean-up job is done.
A longtime artist at Richmond’s nonprofit art program, Nurturing Independence Through Artistic Development (NIAD), Mullen’s paintings have attracted galleries, collectors and museums for years. NIAD is a studio program for people with developmental disabilities.
Currently, he has a solo exhibit at New York’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), which many consider a pinnacle for artists — the big time. It’s his biggest exhibit to date.
The show, “Projects: Marlon Mullen,” runs until April 20.
“I feel like this is his way to communicate to the world because he doesn’t really use our language, so people can see his mind, and the way he translates it,” said April Johnson, Mullen’s sister.
“It’s like ‘OK, that’s the way you interpret, Bro.’ I’m excited he’s being heard. He’s always been seen; he’s there looking sharp.”
Mullen, born and raised in Richmond, is largely nonverbal — a “bro” in a three-piece suit who doesn’t talk much, as Johnson describes him. Terms like nonverbal, developmentally disabled, autism spectrum came later in their lives, Johnson said. He was simply her brother and diagnoses and labels weren’t at the forefront.
Maybe, he’s choosing not to talk, Johnson said.
Mullen clearly likes order, as he sees it, as he feels it. He likes to dress impeccably, everything matching, fine-tuned. He sweeps, empties trash bins without being asked.
Visiting NIAD
WHAT: Nurturing Independence Through Artistic Development is an art center in Richmond where dozens of developmentally disabled artists create work in a variety of mediums.
WHEN: The gallery is open on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on the second Saturday of the month from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. or on Saturdays by appointment.
WHERE: 551 23rd St.,
Richmond, CA.
On canvas, he creates distinct shapes, colors and words, with precision and care. He’s known for his renditions of covers from magazines, especially art publications such as Art Forum or Art News.
His current project is inspired by the cover of a Horizon magazine, a glossy book-like arts and culture publication.
This juxtaposition, Mullen’s art on art, has caught the art world’s attention.
“Mullen’s work is a contemporary exemplar of a centuries-old tradition of artists making art about art, an avenue of invention richly represented in MoMA’s collection, said Ann Temkin, MoMA’s chief curator of painting and sculpture.
“Taking the covers of art books and magazines as his subject matter, Mullen transforms them into dazzling paintings that bring him and us into the thick of today’s art world.”
Mullen’s paintings have been included in shows at SFMOMA, the Whitney Museum of Modern Art in New York, the UC Berkeley Art Museum and more, with previous solo exhibits at the Atlanta Contemporary, and White Columns in New York. He is represented by a Portland gallery, which acts as his agent.
“MoMA looks to show work by artists that feels urgent and important at this moment. We look for art that seems to us to have something important to say to our audience today and that meaningfully extends a decades-long history of modern art,” Temkin said.
Artist was raised in Iron Triangle neighborhood
Mullen and Johnson, who is 18 years younger, were raised in Richmond’s Iron Triangle neighborhood, named for its bordering railroad tracks. They grew up in a bustling house on Third Street and Barrett Avenue with their mom, Gloria Johnson, and David Johnson, Mullen’s stepdad and Johnson’s biological father.
Their grandma, Georgia Sharpe, lived nearby on Ripley Avenue, and the two houses were like one household, with constant back and forth, Johnson said.
It was a time of family BBQ’s, sports, bike rides, weekends in Reno, summer vacations in New York, the Grand Canyon, Disneyland, Disneyworld, among other favorites, and plenty of church. The whole family was active in Richmond’s Mt. Carmel Missionary Baptist Church.
for his colorful paintings. Courtesy April Johnson
The elder Johnsons and Sharpe have passed.
Today, Mullen lives in a supported living house in Rodeo with roommates. April Johnson lives in Texas and describes herself as a commuter caregiver, helper, watcher-over, go-between between her brother and the world.
“My mom, on her last few days, that’s all she was worried about, ‘Take care of my Marlon, take care of him,’ ” Johnson said. “I feel I’ve found a good balance. I’m a helicopter; I check in all the time, we talk. I pop up at NIAD, I pop up at his house, it’s cool.”
Their mom worked at the Chevron refinery in data entry; their dad/stepdad was a corrections officer at San Quentin.
“”
“I feel like this is his way to communicate to the world because he doesn’t really use our language, so people can see his mind.”
— April Johnson, Marlon Mullen’s sister
Mom always said she was just five minutes from her kids, Johnson said, referring to the distance between Chevron and their home. And she liked it that way.
“He didn’t really paint at home; we played a lot of Legos together. He would be so good at them, he’d freestyle a cool tower, that’s what I noticed,” said Johnson.
Mullen once won a city award for keeping their street clean, picking up trash, Johnson said. “He’d put on his gloves, get his bag.”
She was into basketball, playing in high school and for a spell at Diablo Valley College. She later served in the Coast Guard for almost five years and worked at the ConocoPhillips refinery in Rodeo before it closed.
Sports weren’t her brother’s thing, she said, though he’s always loved to walk. And he did come to watch her play.
“Who’s the guy in the suit with your mom and dad?” she said friends would ask. “Like he was a coach.”
She’d answer: “He’s just my brother.”
NIAD has served artists since 1982
Mullen started at NIAD almost 40 years ago and now goes three days a week. He’s also in a Pinole-based day program, Pathway to Choices.
Spend a little time at NIAD’s 23rd Street art space, and it’s easy to see how the quiet Lego king took to paint and got wings, alongside numerous other artists working on canvas or paper, with fabric, yarn, thread, wood, metal, or clay.
The space, several large rooms in a converted commercial building, is a medley of colors, textures, creations and creating. From drawing to sculpture, embroidery to papier-mâché — it’s an “anything goes” form of expression. A whimsical ceramic water fountain lines the outdoor patio wall.
On a recent visit, an easygoing contentment set the tone.
Founded in 1982 as part of three Bay Area art programs for people with intellectual/developmental disabilities, NIAD was opened by arts educator Florence Ludins-Katz, and her husband, psychologist Elias Katz. The other programs are Creative Growth in Oakland and Creativity Explored in San Francisco.
The concept was the acceptance of each artist’s unique creative expression versus trying to assimilate or train someone to fit outside expectations or modes. Today, this is called a Progressive Art Studio, which many say originated with Creative Growth.
“They’re good people. They let bro be himself,” Johnson summarized.
Bending over his canvas in a spanking-new looking powder blue MoMA hoodie, Marlon seems at ease.
NIAD, which is run by artists, provides an array of materials and supplies, along with freedom, nurturing and help when asked. Staff work with artists to set personalized goals, based on their wishes.
“We have a very encouragement-based studio culture. You don’t really see those infamous grad school critiques that make people cry,” said Amanda Eicher, NIAD’s executive director.
“We’ve provided decade after decade of encouraging words.”
“For artists who are non speaking it’s really important for us to spend time with them, to observe and understand what works and what doesn’t work,” Eicher said. For Mullen, she said, “His best communication is interpersonal eye contact, physically communicating, directing people’s attention.”
NIAD’s mission includes help with art marketing, if the artist wants. This aligns perfectly with California’s legislative focus on prioritizing paid work for people with developmental disabilities, if this is their goal.
“They do a lot of boots on ground work to get the exposure for these awesome people who go in there every day and throw it down,” Johnson said.
The studio is also an exhibit space, by intention. Most NIAD artists show and sell, she said.
“That is one meaningful pathway. That’s not the only one,” Eicher said. “Studio artists’ goals really run the gamut. Some people don’t want their art to be seen, some want to keep their art.”
She adds: “This is what is so powerful about the way people with disabilities bring different voices to the arts. When all of those motivations move into the art world, that helps change conversations on the arts in a really meaningful way.”
Mullen enjoyed a moment in NYC spotlight
Mullen was always drawn to magazine pictures, Eicher said. Choosing images, recreating them in his way.
“At the beginning, Marlon drew from anything ranging from Sunset to Self (magazines), and not just the covers. Images that were interesting to him,” she said.
About 15 years ago, the nonprofit received a load of donated Art Forum magazines. “And Marlon really took to it. I think that was the starting point for him working on the art mediums. Now it’s only art magazines.”
Mullen clearly enjoys the recognition, Johnson said.
“You should have seen him working the room in NY; he was working it,” Johnson said of the MoMA opening in December. “He loves meeting new people; he was so proud of himself. Everyone is calling for him, and taking pictures”
The New York show features 25 paintings from the last decade, according to their website, including works from his studio and private collections. A new work inspired by the cover of the MoMA publication “Van Gogh: The Starry Night” is on view for the first time.
Eicher said, “Typically when people are visiting the studio and there to see his work and see him working, he’s very eager to see they’re around.”
The same goes, she said, when his work is afar. He’s an eager traveler, she said, from packing his suitcases, to choosing his outfits, to the meets and greets with new people looking at his art.
Johnson thinks Mullen gets that his painting helps bring exciting travels and things like new clothes. He likes group sightseeing tours, in addition to his work trips.
But Johnson also sees something else: “I think he knows his art makes people happy. It’s never a bad time,” she said. “He understands that people enjoy what he does, and it makes folks feel good.”
