
City Pages provided two reviews of my show Scuffle and Scrape at Rosalux Gallery in March 2011.
“Local artist Shawn McNulty takes full advantage of the worldwide reach of the internet to promote his work online, but Minnesotans are lucky enough to get to see this St. Paulite’s work up close and in person. ‘Scuffle and Scrape’ is not only the name of McNulty’s upcoming exhibition, but also an apt bare-bones description of his application of paint, pumice, and gels to his large canvasses.
Despite the distressed look of McNulty’s many-layered pieces, they are nonetheless bright and vibrant. He reveals the multiple layers of paint and collage by slicing into them, creating pieces that convey a spontaneous process.
Further demonstrating his process are the names he gives his pieces, such as the sky-blue piece barely revealing a base of nondescript orange, red, and white shapes titled Copacetic. Despite his in-the-moment nature, McNulty’s work is built upon a solid base, he states on his blog that his work is dependent on design fundamentals: form, color, and composition.” – Coco Mault

“Rosalux’s rebirth in its new Northeast location continues with an exhibition of tactile, textural works by Shawn McNulty. His deliciously thick compositions, rich with layers of pumice, gel, collage, and, yes, paint, render form and feeling with muscular abstraction. His favorite instrument of artistic expression: commercial-grade palette knives from the hardware store. Imagine if Mark Rothko and Jackson Pollock had fathered a love child. McNulty might be it. A critical and commercial success, McNulty’s “Shiver” is the background for a new M&M’s magazine ad. The artist’s paintings rivet with intentional mystery and crushing color; it’s a controlled aesthetic deluge to wrap the senses around and swoon.” – Camille LeFevre
