
Artist: Chase Mullen
Title: Beach House
Medium: Deckled Giclee Print
Size: 16 x 20 Inches
Edition: 30
Price: $250
Chase Mullen is a contemporary photorealistic painter from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, known for his detailed depictions of Southern U.S. wildlife and natural landscapes. His art blends scientific illustration with a modern, sometimes surreal, approach, offering a unique perspective on the intersection of nature and humanity in the South.
Growing up exploring local creeks and ponds, Mullen developed a deep connection to the natural world. His passion for art and nature is evident in his meticulous work, which draws heavily from the legacy of early naturalists and artists like John James Audubon. Mullen admires Audubon's ability to document nature before the camera, a romantic ideal he carries into his own practice.
Mullen's signature style involves painting on smooth birch panels, which allows for intricate detail without the distraction of canvas texture. He favors clean, white backgrounds, similar to those found in antique field guides, to focus attention on the subject's anatomy, shape, and texture.
His paintings often create a subtle tension by juxtaposing organic elements with man-made objects, reflecting on the impact of human presence and climate change on Louisiana's delicate ecology. Despite potential allegorical interpretations, Mullen emphasizes that his primary goal is to find and share the beauty of his culture and home state, adding to the contemporary dialogue surrounding the Southern landscape.
Mullen's work has been exhibited in galleries across the U.S. and internationally, and in 2024, he held his first museum exhibition, "Second Nature," at the Louisiana Art & Science Museum.