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Artist Statement
“Growing” is the word that best describes my primary concern while painting. Growth happens in all living things. If something grows, it is not made. To “make” a painting is to not make art, but if one lets that painting grow, then art is made. The difference being that the former is only made by the maker and reflects only the maker’s mind. The latter allows for its own making and thus develops a mind of its own.“Growing” is the word that best describes my primary concern while painting. Growth happens in all living things. If something grows, it is not made. To “make” a painting is to not make art, but if one lets that painting grow, then art is made. The difference being that the former is only made by the maker and reflects only the maker’s mind. The latter allows for its own making and thus develops a mind of its own.
I begin a painting in two different ways. The first is to put paint in a very direct manner in places that feel, momentarily, correct. If I find that those areas are not right then I will either go back over them with more paint or sand my original marks away, or maybe even spray the area with some water. The second beginning would be to make some kind of an uncontrolled mark on the surface by pouring paints or by using water and ink. After starting a “growing” painting, I go back into it and add more calculated elements that harmonize with the other layers of paint, while still concentrating on not rupturing the pattern of growth that was started. It is important that every mark that I make follows the “mind” of the mark made before it so that the train of thought is not broken. I do this to show a connection between the more controlled and the uncontrolled. Most people would interpret this process to be about the act of painting. I paint to give life to what I feel to be the truths about life. As Brice Marden would say, “The rectangle, the plane, the structure, the picture are but sounding boards for a spirit.” I am also painting about paint but not as an end in itself. While painting about the properties of paint, I am thinking of how these properties relate to life. -Mark Pack
Diverse Faces of Agate (detail), Acrylic on Wood, 28.5" x 29.5"
Mark Pack is an artist who defines his artistic process as one of cultivation rather than manufacture. This action manifests itself in through painting, sculpture and installation.
Mark Pack received his BFA in Painting from Northern Illinois University in 2001 and his MFA in Painting from Rhode Island School of Design in 2004, graduating with honors. Since then Mark has been in numerous juried, solo, and group exhibitions. Mark is currently represented by Graver’s Lane Gallery as well as Artbox Gallery in Indianapolis. His work is also in numerous private and public Collections. Mark Pack
