PRESS RELEASE

Opening at the Moviehouse Gallery on December 17th and running until Februrary 24th is a show of new encaustic paintings by Michael Mark.

Encaustic paint involves the mixture of pigment, wax and occasionally resins or oils. These elements are melted, applied and manipulated in a warmed liquid state by a variety of different tools. After the paintings are complete, the entire surface is heated until the components of the painting fuse together forming a solid surface. Although Egyptians and Greeks used this cumbersome technique in a spectacular manner, it has fallen out of fashion for many centuries. Various devices of the 20th, such as the heat gun and electric frying pans, have made working in this medium easier.

Recently, Michael has focused on the deliberate act of making signs or symbols. These take the form of light and orbs, indicative of our transient existence, here today and perhaps gone tomorrow. He exposes the beauty of a single smudge or stroke in these unusual constructed paintings. The Romantic tradition of Turner's combustions, Monet's lilies and Albert Pinkham Ryder's skies come to mind when viewing this work

Michael maintains studios in Millerton, NY and Melbourne, Australia - where he is studying for a PhD in Fine Arts at the Victorian College of the Arts. Michael's research involves the location, acquisition, refinement and ultimately painting with, earth pigments. His most recent show (pictured below) consisted of work painted on linen using gloved hands.

ARTIST STATEMENT
Text from Albert Pinkham Ryder
1848 - 1917
Painter
American

Try as I would, my colors were not those of nature. My leaves were infinitely below the standard of a leaf, my finest strokes were coarse and crude.

The old scene presented itself one day before my eyes framed in an opening between two trees. It stood out like a painted canvas-the deep blue of a midday sky-a solitary tree, brilliant with the green of early summer, a foundation of brown earth and gnarled roots.

There was no detail to vex the eye. Three solid masses of form and color-sky, foliage and earth-the world bathed in an atmosphere of golden luminosity. I threw my brushes aside;they were to small for the work in hand. I squeezed out big chunks of pure, moist color and taking my palette knife, I laid on blue, green, white and brown in sweeping strokes.

As I worked I saw that it was good and clean and strong. I saw nature springing into life upon my dead canvas. It was better than nature, for it was vibrating with the thrill of a new creation. Exultantly I painted until the sun sank below the horizon, then I raced around the fields like a colt let loose, and literally bellowed for joy.Albert Pinkam Ryder