Brush With Fame

Edie Cohen -- Interior Design, 3/1/2006 12:00:00 AM

WHO: Malcolm Hill.

WHAT: Paintings, illustrations, and sculpture that transcend fashion.

WHERE: "At Barneys New York, I used to joke with Simon Doonan and Peter Marino that we were having our Bauhaus moment 50 years later."

Malcolm Hill's far-flung interests have led him to Austin, Texas, for college, Guadalajara, Mexico, to sculpt, and West Virginia, to live on a farm—all experiences that have shaped him as the success he is today.

Generally thought of as a muralist, Hill doesn't always paint on walls. He applies latex colors in organic patterns to canvas—often along with ordinary rope, stones, or cardboard—and then adheres the result, like wallpaper.

He started out painting backdrops for a clothing store in Dallas. When a friend, Todd Oldham, gave Hill a referral to Barneys New York, he moved to the Big Apple to accept the store's offer: a contract to oversee paintings worldwide and collaborate with creative director Simon Doonan and Peter Marino Architect. "Todd told Simon I could paint Caravaggio in 15 minutes," Hill recalls.

The Barneys commission naturally led to collaborations with such industry leaders as Ralph Pucci International and the Rockwell Group. In addition, he does work for the namesake firm of his partner, Shamir Shah. Hill's been sculpting in resin and dabbling in illustration lately, too—perhaps channeling his Austin and Guadalajara years.

Hired by Sean Johnson Interior Decoration, Malcolm Hill works on an 8-by-10-foot piece in burlap, linen, glue, and gouache for a New York lobby.

Clockwise from top left: A sculpture in resin and string. A mural at Ralph Pucci International for a Jens Risom launch—incorporating abstract J's and R's. Plaster, pebbles, rope, cardboard, sandpaper, and sand embedded in a mural at the Barneys New York flagship. An illustration for a Veronique Maternity ad. A wood and plaster sculpture for a New York apartment building's lobby by William McIntosh Design. A painting in latex and gouache in a New York apartment by Shamir Shah Design.