Mulcahy, Michael (b1945)

Michael Mulcahy was inspired by a “lifelong love of cartoons and comics,” notably by Walt Disney and abstract artist Ad Reinhardt. He developed his pop art style using super vibrant colors to balance line like Edward Hopper and Fritz Scholder. His work is also directly influenced by the Bay Area Figurative movement and the Bay Area Funk Art movement of the 60s and 70s.

After receiving a degree in literature and drama from Occidental College, he lived and worked in Ireland and the Bay Area for several years.

Mulcahy rarely shows his work, but in 2017, the 1078 Gallery in Chico, California showcased his pop-art in a show titled “The Monday Funnies.” It spanned pieces the artist had painted over the previous 40 years. Another Hollywood Mystery was exhibited at this retrospective.

He achieves his brilliant color by using a technique of overlaying coat after coat of translucent acrylic paint which is extremely exacting and time consuming.

Related to the American Pop-Art movement of the 70s, his collages include various unrelated and/or related objects that together create mystery as well as comic relief.