Bio: Thérèse Mulgrew (b. 1991) grew up just outside of Dubuque, Iowa. Influenced by her mother's surreal oil paintings and her grandmother's impressionist still lifes, she began to cultivate her own style which focuses mainly on depicting large-scale portraits and nostalgic still life in oil paint. Mulgrew’s work explores intimacy and connection through narrative imagery often depicting table settings. Inspired by cinema and photography, she works with a filmmaker to ensure her series mimic the experience of watching a short film - each painting acting as a still fleeting moment but when viewed all together, reveal a more broad and deep narrative. Mulgrew took a variety of studio art classes at the University of Iowa, where she graduated with an English literature major. Immediately afterwards, she moved to NYC where she worked in the fashion industry and took classes at The Art Students League and New York Studio School of Painting, Drawing, and Sculpture. She currently resides in Chicago, IL. Art statement: My work is an attempt to explore vulnerability, desire, and intimacy through narrative imagery, capturing mysterious and meaningful in-between moments. Though I use friends and family as models, both the still lifes and portraits feel like autobiographical extensions of myself and my relationships. Most of the jewelry and objects rendered in the paintings are my own and in that way, feel like a further glimpse into my immediate world. Many of the paintings focus on hands, which I’ve been fascinated by since I was a kid - their character and beauty, the way they tell their own stories and remind us that we’re human. My paintings often center around food and dinner tables, inspired by my childhood growing up around a lot of dinner parties and witnessing the way people can connect deeply in those settings. Film and cinematography are another direct influence of my current work as the paintings are meant to portray specific narratives through cinematic stills.

Bio: Thérèse Mulgrew (b. 1991) grew up just outside of Dubuque, Iowa. Influenced by her mother's surreal oil paintings and her grandmother's impressionist still lifes, she began to cultivate her own style which focuses mainly on depicting large-scale portraits and nostalgic still life in oil paint. Mulgrew’s work explores intimacy and connection through narrative imagery often depicting table settings. Inspired by cinema and photography, she works with a filmmaker to ensure her series mimic the experience of watching a short film - each painting acting as a still fleeting moment but when viewed all together, reveal a more broad and deep narrative. Mulgrew took a variety of studio art classes at the University of Iowa, where she graduated with an English literature major. Immediately afterwards, she moved to NYC where she worked in the fashion industry and took classes at The Art Students League and New York Studio School of Painting, Drawing, and Sculpture. She currently resides in Chicago, IL. Art statement: My work is an attempt to explore vulnerability, desire, and intimacy through narrative imagery, capturing mysterious and meaningful in-between moments. Though I use friends and family as models, both the still lifes and portraits feel like autobiographical extensions of myself and my relationships. Most of the jewelry and objects rendered in the paintings are my own and in that way, feel like a further glimpse into my immediate world. Many of the paintings focus on hands, which I’ve been fascinated by since I was a kid - their character and beauty, the way they tell their own stories and remind us that we’re human. My paintings often center around food and dinner tables, inspired by my childhood growing up around a lot of dinner parties and witnessing the way people can connect deeply in those settings. Film and cinematography are another direct influence of my current work as the paintings are meant to portray specific narratives through cinematic stills.