The Santa Barbara Museum of Art (SBMA) will present "Martin Mull: The Joys of Indoor/Outdoor Living," the first major museum exhibition of Martin Mull's artwork in 20 years, running from June 27 to October 17, 2027. The show is co-curated by comedian and art collector Steve Martin and Ann Philbin, director emerita of the Hammer Museum, who brought the project to SBMA. Mull, who died in 2024, was a celebrated actor, comedian, and musician who studied painting at the Rhode Island School of Design and continued making art throughout his entertainment career.
This exhibition matters because it repositions Martin Mull as a serious visual artist, bringing long-overdue recognition to a body of work that has been overshadowed by his fame in comedy and acting. The collaboration between Steve Martin and Ann Philbin—a proven curatorial team from their 2015 Hammer Museum show on Lawren Harris—adds significant art-world credibility. For SBMA, the show represents a major coup, leveraging Philbin's reputation and Martin's collecting expertise to highlight an under-recognized artist, reinforcing the museum's role as a venue for surprising, high-quality contemporary art presentations.