Kathleen Mullaniff trained at University of the Arts, Camberwell College of Art and Design (BA Fine Art Painting) and at the University of London, Goldsmiths College (MA Fine Art).
She has exhibited in Painting as a 'Foreign as a Language' at Cultura Inglesa Sao Paulo. 'Fabric Reinterpreting the House' at Abbott Hall Art Gallery. 'Loop' at Bankfield Museum, 'Showhouse' at PM Gallery and House. She was awarded an AHRC grant in 2002 in order to research the botanical drawings of, Les Roses, by Pierre-Joseph Redoute. In 2004 she participated in 'Purl' at The Museum of Domestic Design and Architecture where three UK artists and three artists from the USA used the textile archive to make original works. In 2007 she participated in 'Paisley: exploding the teardrop' at PM Gallery and House which was featured in the BBC Womens Hour. In 2004 she co-founded the Patternlab and took part in Touch, Textiles, Technology: collaboration across Europe at Goldsmiths College and Containing Culture: Lacking in Discipline at Manchester Metropolitain University. The Patternlab was also features in Textiles: The Fabric of Fine Art. Her current research is focused upon making paintings from the floral images of Marrian North who was a botanical artist (1830-1890). In May 2012 she presented a one-person exhibition entitled 'Fade in Fade' out at the Tokarska Gallery in London.
Kathleen has taught Fine Art at a number of universities including the Northumbria University, Newcastle and Central St Martins College of Art and Design. She has been an external examiner at Camberwell College of Art and Design and the University of Hertfordshire. From 1992/02 she was the BA Fine Art Programme Leader at Middlesex University where she is a Senior Lecturer on the BA Fine Art Programme. Kathleen is currently the Level 3 BA Fine Art facilitator; she helps to organise the Fine Art Degree Show at Hendon Campus and the Old Truman Brewery. Her main area of teaching is Painting, Drawing and Fine Art.
Kathleen has been exploring a series of inter-related issues, which takes as a fundamental question: how can painting embrace decoration to disclose a narrative of loss and dislocation. She used various formal means within her practice to map and record the decorative. Her starting points have been varied and have encompassed the use of decorative printed fabric, photographic imagery and illustrated floral imagery. It is her intention to investigate the idea of home as a place laden with memory and cultural identity. The ongoing question is one of interpretation, the aim being to render the source material in a poetical pictorial form. Fine Art Practice has placed a question mark over the applied and decorative arts, viewing them from a cultural distance. Kathleen address's in her practice pictorial methods that make a contemporary comment on past histories. She is interested in the domestic sphere as a site of personal identification. Her current research is focused upon making paintings from the floral images of Marrian North who was a botanical artist (1830-1890). In May 2012 she presented a one-person exhibition entitled 'Fade in Fade' out at the Tokarska Gallery in London.
Dick, Emma and Mullaniff, Kathleen (2020) Reflections on textile and memory. The invisible hand and women's work: Dean Castle Textile Team at the Dick Institute, Kilmarnock. In: Feminist Art Activisms and Artivisms. Deepwell, Katy , ed. Valiz, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. ISBN 9789492095725
Mullaniff, Kathleen (2019) Textile and Memory. [Portfolio/Project/Collection]
Mullaniff, Kathleen (2019) Drawings: Dean Castle Textile studio. [Artefact]
Mullaniff, Kathleen (2019) Digital embroidery: Dean Castle. [Artefact]
Mullaniff, Kathleen and Mullaniff, Pauline (2019) Textile and Memory. [Artefact]