A Conversation with the South Cove-Based Artist, Kristen Mulvihill
Kristen Mulvihill’s recent achievements include participating with the Whitney Museum’s AIDS Memorial Quilt Project and completing a commission that expresses the goals of the new Google/MotherCoders/Bitwise Industries partnership. These two projects say a lot about the diversity of Mulvihill’s work. Her versatility and explorative nature allow her to be able to create pieces for both leading art museums and innovative tech projects. In addition to her artwork, her creative positions have also spanned magazine editing, book authorship, fashion photography, and much more. For a significant portion of her career, she’s been based in South Cove, Manhattan.
In the 90s, Mulvihill moved to New York City and embarked on seizing all that the Big Apple had to offer for an enterprising young creator. She soon found that the city had plenty of opportunities, both professional and personal. These early years laid the groundwork for her later avenues of creative exploration. For instance, she considers her work in fashion publishing as a significant launching pad for how she depicts the human body and in how she presents her work. In roles such as the fashion editor of Marie Claire, she consistently had to portray the human body in an idealized fashion. And for certain pieces, such as a column named “101 Ideas at a Time,” she would have to position many diverse images together in a way that produced one cohesive theme. When she began focusing ever more on her own original artwork, she started to advance what she had learned in these roles.
Initially, she drew people in similar ways to how she would feature fashion models in magazines. But her approach has evolved significantly over the years, especially since she moved to South Cove. Through collaborating with other local artists, she realized that her depiction of humanity did not have to be anatomically perfect, or stylized to reflect idealized standards of beauty. Instead, in recent years, her work has focused much more on using abstraction and visual ambiguity to convey inner meaning.
Her home/art studio in South Cove has been key to Mulvihill’s advancement as an artist. When she first moved into her current apartment in the neighborhood, in 2014, she was soon struck by how different the city looked, even in comparison to her previous Lower Manhattan apartment. For instance, she notes that South Cove is the only place she’s lived in Manhattan where it truly feels like an island. She also states that much of the joy of creating art in South Cove comes from the way that the imagery of the area can change sharply depending on the time of day. From her apartment, she will occasionally witness brief light flares caused by buildings reflecting the sun. These flares bathe her environment in otherworldly light for brief periods of time, allowing her to view what she’s working on with an unintentional yet dramatic filter.
The environment outside of Mulvihill’s building also fuels her creativity. One of the best parts of being in a place that has urban sprawl and natural greenery within steps of her home is that it has incredibly distinct appearances at different times of the year. For instance, as South Cove Park is filled with a wide range of flora, few places in New York City look as colorful when the leaves turn during the fall. Mulvihill also participates in a wide range of activities that occur within a short walk of her South Cove home. She lists silent discos, lantern light installations, the SeaGlass Carousel, outdoor concerts, and, of course, park-based figure drawing sessions as events that she and her family participate in. She also notes that by being located in downtown Manhattan, she has been able to experience spaces in ways that few others can.
One specific example she gives is the Oculus Center, which is iconic due to its bold whalebone frame. When this area first opened, she notes that it was so sparsely attended that she and others would be able to lie on the floor and gaze into the sky without worry for minutes on end.
As a New Yorker since the 90s, she’s grown along with the city. She notes how, in many ways, Lower Manhattan has made major improvements in this time. Most notably, much of the architecture and public spaces have undergone significant renovations, making them much more appealing to experience. But the tragedies that have rocked the area have also contributed to Mulvihill’s work. She experienced 9/11, Hurricane Sandy, and the pandemic in the area. These events have altered the fabric of both New York, and the people who live in it, with Mulvihill being no exception. However, despite the dark circumstances of these events, Mulvihill, like so many others, has been able to find a certain hope from what has emerged since. For instance, almost every day, Mulvihill walks through the grounds of the 9/11 Memorial. This activity is not to dwell on the events. In fact, it’s often for practical reasons, such as school runs. But she definitely believes that frequently passing through such a poignant memorial related to an event she witnessed has impacted the ethos of her art in subtle ways.
In the early days of the pandemic, for practical reasons, Mulvihill temporarily moved out of South Cove. She was struck by how much she missed the neighborhood. Yet she also appreciated just how interconnected the entire city is. In September, 2020, she was able to witness the 9/11 Memorial Lights from further away than ever before. Prior to this, she had always seen them up close. She had known that the lights were visible from afar. But seeing this art installation from a new perspective, after two decades, gave her a whole new impression of the cohesion of the place she calls home.
And Mulvihill is keen to re-integrate with the activities that are returning to South Cove and other nearby neighborhoods. The area is springing to life once more with the passing of the pandemic. The future may be uncertain. However, she knows that the vibrancy of her home will continue to provide her and her family with inspiration and entertainment.
Kristen Mulvihill’s story highlights how finding the right location can shape a person’s entire career. Both consciously and unconsciously, our environments impact the way we act and the way we think. For Mulvihill, South Cove and its surrounding areas have been cornerstones for expression and personal evolution.
