CORY REYNOLDS | DATE 8/26/2016

Matt Mullican: Rubbings

"Untitled (History over Opera House Surrounded by Signs and Flags)" (1987) is reproduced from Matt Mullican: Rubbings, JRP|Ringier's beautiful new 448-page catalogue of the artist's frottage rubbings on canvas, 1984-2016. Essayist Dieter Schwartz quotes the artist speaking on the first thing that gripped his imagination as a young artist. "It was the idea that all I see are light patterns. I had deconstructed the world to simple patterns and I made artwork about light reflecting and light emanating. When you say that all you see are light patterns, you remove all subject matter. There is no difference between me looking at you and me looking at a ladder. They are the same because everything is simply abstract."