Jane Mulfinger

Jane Mulfinger is an avid collector of human artifacts, engaging her public in both conceptual and perceptual reflections on the significances of specific human activity. Used clothing, second-hand spectacles and a collection of WPA drawings of Los Angeles straddle the expansive view of her archives. A graduate of Stanford University and the Royal College of Art, with Honors and Distinction respectively, Mulfinger's early work is recognized as addressing the relationship between architecture, memory, and the human body. As the collections continue to unfold, a new series of work explores the mesmerizing effects of objects in motion, regarding the construction of visual spectacle itself, in the levitation of mundane upholstery feathers. Mulfinger's work has been seen in established venues such as the Mayor Gallery, Camden Arts Center, the Orchard Gallery, Franklin Furnace Archive, and the Southhampton Museum of Art as well as temporary off-site locations such as St. Pancras railway station, London, X-star video peep show in Paris, and a 17th century church house for widows in Belgium. These satellite spaces are central to Mulfinger's approach, utilizing existing contextualizations in the content of her pieces, while fulfilling the notion that the audience completes the work. Rather than assuming the neutrality of a given space, Mulfinger posits the sociological, political, and formal/spatial contexts of architecture with the objects and text that she chooses to incorporate. This approach can be seen in much of her work since 1989; "Common Knowledge," an etched glass panels installed in St. Pancras Station, London, with collected European jokes in their original languages; "I Battuti Bianchi," in Carignano, Italy; "Filled with Content, Emptied with Form," in Belgium, and most recently, "Armory as Cathedral" in Pasadena. Publications have included articles in both art magazines and national newspapers including Flash Art (Italian version), Art and Design, Contemporary Visual Art, Untitled, The Economist, The Times (London), The Guardian, La Stampa, and the Los Angeles Times, and regular coverage in London?s Time-Out Magazine under the direction of Sarah Kent. In 1994, a monograph of her work was published with an essay written by Kate Bush, now Director of Exhibitions at the London Photographer's Gallery, and Richard Dyer, artist and critic. Mulfinger currently teaches at the Dept. of Art Studio and the College of Creative Studies, focusing on spatial and sculptural topics including the "Mobile Works" course that places thought-provoking temporary student artwork in any medium on campus.