June 24, 2021

Study for a Palindrome

on view at

the Peter and Merle Mullin Gallery Courtyard

Exhibition dates:

June 24 through September 12, 2021

ArtCenter Exhibitions announces the installation of “Study for a Palindrome,” an outdoor sculpture by Los Angeles artist and ArtCenter faculty John David O’Brien, in the courtyard of the College’s Peter and Merle Mullin Gallery.

John David O’Brien’s “Study for a Palindrome” is the most recent iteration of the artist’s study of the letterform. The work combines disassembled written language and letterforms while also engaging with various forms of mapping, including intuitive and non-geophysical coordinates. A visual rebus puzzle of sorts, the work remixes information with exploded word forms, while also utilizing the surrounding area that the Mullin gallery’s courtyard occupies, into an abstract sculpture.

John David O’Brien’s artwork referencing letterforms dates back to his time as an artist in residence at the National Etching Institute (Calcografia Nazionale) in Rome, Italy. At that institute, artists in residence were asked to look at existing prints and plates, in particular the ex libris and early passe-partout pages in which artists give thanks to benefactors or acknowledge ownership of specific books and print editions.

Throughout the intervening years, O’Brien’s interest in letterforms continued and he began to use letterforms, acronyms and written forms in two-dimensional formats in conjunction with projects he created with contemporary poets. One such project is Adventures on a Raft / Digressions Series (2010), created in collaboration with poet Molly Bendall and exhibited at the Kellogg Gallery at Cal Poly Pomona University.

Most recently, O’Brien has been working on several larger-scale projects that emphasize the three-dimensional formatting of letterforms, including his recent site-specific installation Labyrinthine, a two-story light well installed in the home of Jessica T and Hannah L Smith in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Peter and Merle Mullin Gallery
ArtCenter College of Design
1111 S Arroyo Parkway
Pasadena, Calif. 91105
mullin.gallery@artcenter.edu

Peter and Merle Mullin Gallery is currently unavailable for visits by the public due to the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. However, all exhibitions are on-view through the street facing windows and courtyard.

Free parking is available at 1111 S Arroyo Parkway, Pasadena, Calif. 91105.

About the Peter and Merle Mullin Gallery: Located in the South Campus lobby of ArtCenter’s 1111 building, the Peter and Merle Mullin Gallery serves as a welcoming point for students, faculty, staff and the public. Extending the reach of the College’s multifaceted Exhibitions department, this modestly-scaled space is optimum for high impact presentations of solo exhibitions and small group projects. Situated at a major gateway between Pasadena and North East Los Angeles, the space was designed to accommodate media in a wide variety, from intimately scaled works of art to automobiles, reflecting and intersecting with the multiple disciplines of ArtCenter’s curricula. The adjacent exterior courtyard provides opportunities for social and educational programs.

About ArtCenter Exhibitions

ArtCenter Exhibitions includes the Alyce de Roulet Williamson Gallery at its north campus in Pasadena, the Peter and Merle Mullin Gallery, the Hoffmitz Milken Center for Typography Gallery and the Hutto-Patterson Exhibition Hall at its south campus in Pasadena, and ArtCenter DTLA Gallery in downtown Los Angeles. These curated spaces embody ArtCenter's institutional will to understand artistic thinking and design strategies as levers in promoting social advancement, the pursuit of humanitarian innovation, and use of critical inquiry to clarify objectives and truths. Using the lens of contemporary art and design, the mission of ArtCenter Exhibitions is to ignite emotional resonance, provoke intellectual dissonance, and conjure unexpected pathways of thinking.

About ArtCenter: Founded in 1930 and located in Pasadena, California, ArtCenter College of Design is a global leader in art and design education. ArtCenter offers 11 undergraduate and seven graduate degrees in a wide variety of industrial design disciplines as well as visual and applied arts. In addition to its top-ranked academic programs, the College also serves members of the Greater Los Angeles region through a highly regarded series of year-round educational programs for all ages and levels of experience. Renowned for both its ties to industry and its social impact initiatives, ArtCenter is the first design school to receive the United Nations’ Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) status. Throughout the College’s long and storied history, ArtCenter alumni have had a profound impact on popular culture, the way we live and important issues in our society.

Contact:
Teri Bond
Media Relations Director
ArtCenter College of Design
teri.bond@artcenter.edu
626 396-2385