Ahavani Mullen
Chicago, IL 773.960.4149 . ahavani@gmail.com
Ahavani Mullen is a visual artist working in a variety of media - constructing paintings and sculptures that have evolved from silence. Rooted in a contemplative journey that spans over two decades, her work navigates a space between the seen and the unseen, and serves as a record of the intangible.
Ahavani is honored by having been awarded residencies at the Macedonia Institute and the Vermont Studio Center. She has received multiple awards; one for her work in an exhibition at Northwestern University from James Rondeau, Director of the Art Institute of Chicago. She has received grants from 3Arts, the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and the Illinois Arts Council. Her most recent solo exhibitions in Illinois include those at Gallery 1871, Olivet Nazarene University, South Suburban College, and One River School of Art and Design. Her work has been exhibited in galleries and museums nationally and internationally, and is included in numerous collections. She is represented by Circa Gallery in Minneapolis and Gallery 1871 in Chicago. Born in Minneapolis, MN, she received a B.A. from Macalester College in St. Paul, MN. Ahavani is currently based in Chicago.
Solo Exhibitions
2019 Friendship with the Unknown, Gallery 1871, Chicago, IL
2018 Festival, One River School of Art + Design, Evanston, IL
2016 Ocean Inside the Drop, Olivet Nazarene University, Bourbonnais, IL
2015 Here and Now, South Suburban College, South Holland, IL
2013 Silence Speaks, Morpho Gallery, Chicago
Two Person Exhibitions
2017 Ahavani Mullen + Lindsy Halleckson, CIRCA Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
2015 Elements of Light, Brickton Art Gallery, Park Ridge, IL
Grants / Awards / Residencies
2019
The Macedonia Instititute residency, Chatham, NY
Individual Artists Program Grant Award, Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, Chicago, IL
Illinois Arts Council Agency Grant
2018
Vermont Studio Center residency, Johnson, VT
Partial Fellowship, Vermont Studio Center
Illinois Arts Council Grant
2015
3rd Place, ArtFutura, Northwestern University Lurie Center, awarded by James Rondeau, Director, Art Institute of Chicago
3Arts Artist Project Award, 3Arts, Chicago, IL
2014
Individual Artists Program Grant Award, Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, Chicago, IL
First Prize for Mountain Silence, Encaustic Nature in Art, The Art Center - Highland Park, IL
Second Prize for Tenderly, Wax Effects, Art Central Gallery, San Luis Obispo, CA
2013
Illinois Arts Council Grant
Award of Excellence for Winter, Small Art Big Impact Exhibition, Manhattan Art Int’l, NY
First Prize for Tenderly, Fluidity, Union Street Gallery, Chicago Heights, IL
Special Merit Award, Abstract Art Competition, Light Space & Time Gallery
2012
Special Recognition Artist, Seasons Art Competition, Light Space & Time Gallery
Selected Exhibitions
2019
Nouveau, Circa Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
Painting with Fire, Zhou B Art Center, Chicago, IL
Variations in Wax, Robert Morris University, Chicago, IL
2018
Rockford Midwestern Biennial, Rockford Art Museum, Rockford, IL (juror Aron Packer)
Bold Boho, Circa Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
Summer Show, Gallery 1871
Summer Salon, CIRCA Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
2017
New Horizons, Gallery 1871, Chicago, IL
Encaustic 2017: Rebirth of an Ancient Medium (invitational), Bridgeport Art Center, Chicago, IL
Diffused Surface (invitational), Gallery 201, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL
2016
Winter Salon, CIRCA Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
New Works by Gallery Artists, Gallery 1871, Chicago, IL
Summer Salon, CIRCA Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
Winter Salon, Gallery 1871, Chicago, IL
2015
ArtFutura, Northwestern University Lurie Center, juried by James Rondeau, Director, Art Institute of Chicago
Another Way of Keeping a Diary, San Luis Obispo Museum of Art, San Luis Obispo, CA
New Works by Gallery Artists, Gallery 1871, Chicago, IL
Expansive Visions, Christopher Art Gallery, Prairie State College, Chicago Heights, IL
12th Annual Regional Juried Exhibition, Freeport Art Museum, Freeport, IL
Honouring Pollinators, Alton Mill Art Centre, Caledon, Ontario, Canada
Textual Encounters, ARC Gallery, Chicago, IL
Winter Salon, Gallery 1871, Chicago, IL
2014
Abstract Sanctuary, Verum Ultimum Gallery, Portland, OR
Wax Effects, Art Central Art Gallery, San Luis Obispo, CA
Encaustic Nature in Art, The Art Center, Highland Park, IL.
Unbound(ed), Morpho Gallery, Chicago
Fused, Union Street Gallery, Chicago Heights, IL
Small Art Big Impact, Manhattan Arts International, New York
The Diptych Project, Engine Gallery, Biddeford, ME
Green, Fine Arts Building, Chicago
Minute Musings, Union Street Gallery, Chicago Heights, IL
2013
National Juried Encaustic Exhibition, Encaustic Art Institute, Santa Fe, NM
Seven, 7th International Encaustic Conference, Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill, Truro, MA (Juror: Shawn Hill, critic Art New England)
Fluidity, Union Street Gallery, Chicago Heights, IL
Miniatures, Linus Galleries, Los Angeles, CA
6x6x2013, Rochester Contemporary Art Center, Rochester, NY
Abstract II, Brickton Art Center, Park Ridge, IL
12th Annual Art Inter/National Exhibition, Box Heart Gallery, Pittsburgh
WAX(in') Blue, Morpho Gallery, Chicago
Growth, Expansion Gallery, Lacuna Artist Lofts, Chicago
FusedChicago 3, Fine Arts Building, Chicago
8th Annual Emerging Artist Exhibition, Morpho Gallery, Chicago
Introspect, Arterie Fine Arts, Naperville, IL
Abstract, Light Space Time Gallery, Jupiter, FL
2012
Repurposed, University of Maryland, Rockville MD
Rhythm in Wax, Norris Cultural Arts Gallery, St. Charles, IL
Sacred Spaces, The Art Center - Highland Park, IL
Encaustic, Fine Line Creative Arts Center, St. Charles, IL
Tactile Encounters, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago
The Buzz, Zhou B Art Center, Chicago
ReInvention, ARC Gallery, Chicago, IL
Morsels, AnySquared Projects, Chicago
For the Love of Paint!, Flow Art Space, Minneapolis
Painting: Color Dominates, Evans Encaustics, Sonoma, CA
Seasons, Light Space Time Gallery, Jupiter, FL
The Abstract Show, Brickton Art Center, Park Ridge, IL
2011
Age 1.5 and Up, Prak-sis Gallery, Chicago
2010
Beyond Abstraction, Space/Division, Chicago, IL
Selected Bibliography
2019
Paintings and Sculpture by Ahavani Mullen, Praeterita, Phillip Hartigan
2018
Still Point X, Still Point Arts Quarterly
2017
Encaustic Arts magazine, Spring 2017
2015
Studio Visit Magazine, Volume 28, Juror: Carl Belz, Rose Art Museum, Director Emeritus, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA
Here and Now by Ahavani Mullen, SSC360, Bulldog Bites video interview
Elements of Light, What’s Your Process, Artguardian
2014
The Diptych Project II: A Collaboration in Wax - New England Wax + FUSEDChicago,
Dietlind Vander Schaaf
Ahavani Mullen, YoungSpace, Kate Mothes
Collaboration and Inspiration: The Diptych Project II, Below the Surface Blog, New
England Wax
2013
Ahavani Mullen, Featured Artist Interview, FUSEDChicago
Panorama Arts Magazine, Tenderly, August
2012
Natura Viva, Making Something out of Nothing, Debra Claffey Art Blog
Repurposed: Earth-Friendly Art, Exhibition Catalogue
Ahavani Art Studio Encaustic Paintings, Encaustic Art Blog, Cherie McClelland Smith
The Abstract Show, Chicago Tribune
Selected Collections
Museum of Encaustic Art, Santa Fe, NM
Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, NV
Million Dollar Round Table, Executive Suite, Park Ridge, IL
Rochester Contemporary Art Center, Rochester, NY
Other private and corporate collections
Curatorial Projects
The Abstract Show IV, Juror, Brickton Art Gallery, Park Ridge, IL, 2016
Teaching Experience
Oakton Community College, Des Plaines, IL, Visiting Instructor
Prak-sis Contemporary Art Association, Chicago, Encaustic Painting Instructor
Arterie Fine Arts, Naperville, IL, Encaustic Painting Instructor
Ahavani Studio, Chicago, Art Instructor
Education
Macalester College, St. Paul, MN, B.A., 1996
University College London, University of London, England 1994
Representation
CIRCA Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
Gallery 1871, Chicago, IL
