Slow Burn
Station Gallery Sydney
21 September – 26 October, 2024
www.stationgallery.com
In his new exhibition “Slow Burn” Mark Whalen continues to delve into the realm of figurative sculptures highlighting the overlooked moments that shape our everyday existence. Drawing inspiration from artists such as Giorgio Morandi and Alberto Giacometti, known for their insights into the ordinary, Whalen’s art captures this essence.
His sculptures feature quirky objects like steak, books and candles reimagined in yet meaningful compositions.
The gradual melting of a candle or the precarious balance of an egg serve as more than elements; they symbolize patience, equilibrium and the vulnerability of inherent timing in human life. These motifs are intricately integrated into each artwork to underscore life’s fragility and the relentless march of time.
Through his choice of materials like onyx stone, glass, bronze and aluminum Whalen juxtaposes textures to depict the interplay between permanence and transience. The delicate nature of onyx contrasts with the durability of bronze, a reflection of the dance, between fleeting moments and timeless existence.
With this series Whalen prompts viewers to reflect on life’s evolution each moment deliberate and unhurried. Whalens perspective highlights how the true essence of lifes moments often becomes apparent, gradually unfolding their importance as time passes.
You can catch “Slow Burn” at the Station Gallery, in Sydney, Australia.
-Lisa Boudet
Tang Contemporary
ART BUSAN - MAY 9-12th
www.tangcontemporary.com
www.artbusan.com
AISHONANZUKA will be presenting group exhibition “INTERSECTIONS” juxtaposing works by Jay Gard, Mark Whalen and Travis Louie this spring. “Intersections” will be on view from the 15th March to 13th April, 2024. We invite you to immerse yourself in this captivating interplay of diverse nationalities and artistic voices.
At intersections, individuals and their ideas converge and influence one another—at this intersection of artists one may find their covergence of different elements in the works fascinating. Gard pairs different materials and textures to crystalize aesthetic simplicity; Whalen stacks different faces and objects to covey humor defying dimensions; and Louie creates collages of emotions and identities inviting us to look past appearances. Life can be hard at times but these artists encourages us to emphasize what is universal to our very existence and simply live in the moment.
Gard captures the fleeting moment as geometric shapes transform, evoking curiosity. Whalen takes snapshots of the mundane instances of daily life, viewers might get to see themselves not so seriously. Louie weaves together the lives of enchanting magical creatures inhabiting his imaginative world, inviting viewers into a realm filled with charm and mystique.
Intersections
AISHONANZUKA
Jay Gard, Mark Whalen, Travis Louie
March 15 - April 13, 2024
www.aishonanzuka.com
AISHONANZUKA will be presenting group exhibition “INTERSECTIONS” juxtaposing works by Jay Gard, Mark Whalen and Travis Louie this spring. “Intersections” will be on view from the 15th March to 13th April, 2024. We invite you to immerse yourself in this captivating interplay of diverse nationalities and artistic voices.
At intersections, individuals and their ideas converge and influence one another—at this intersection of artists one may find their covergence of different elements in the works fascinating. Gard pairs different materials and textures to crystalize aesthetic simplicity; Whalen stacks different faces and objects to covey humor defying dimensions; and Louie creates collages of emotions and identities inviting us to look past appearances. Life can be hard at times but these artists encourages us to emphasize what is universal to our very existence and simply live in the moment.
Gard captures the fleeting moment as geometric shapes transform, evoking curiosity. Whalen takes snapshots of the mundane instances of daily life, viewers might get to see themselves not so seriously. Louie weaves together the lives of enchanting magical creatures inhabiting his imaginative world, inviting viewers into a realm filled with charm and mystique.
Needles and Pins
The Mass
16 March - 14 April, 2024
www.themass.jp
The Mass presents, ‘Needles and Pins’, a group exhibition curated by the New York based artist Hiroya Kurata, featuring the work of 20 international artists from New York, Los Angeles, Seoul and Copenhagen.
Margot Bird, Lola Gil, Jordin Isip, Rich Jacobs, Aaron Johnson, Misaki Kawai, Hiroya Kurata, Matt Leines, Raymond Lemstra, Gosha Levochkin, Dan Mandelbaum, Anthony Miler, Matt Phillips, Hunter Potter, Mason Saltarrelli, Koichi Sato, Eric Shaw, James Ulmer, Mark Whalen, and Eric White.
Crescent Heights
Harper’s Los Angeles
February 29 – April 13, 2024
www.harpersgallery.com
Please join us in Los Angeles on February 29, 6-8pm, for the opening of Crescent Heights, an expansive group exhibition encompassing gallery artists, friends, and new faces.
Featuring works by: Deborah Brown, Marcus Brutus, Ricky Burrows, Peter Hong-Tsun Chan, Larissa De Jesús Negrón, Marc Dennis, Genieve Figgis, Shyama Golden, Justin Rui Han, Salomón Huerta, Nancy Jackson, Mimi Jung, Jack Kabangu, Ho Jae Kim, Sung Hwa Kim, Katelyn Ledford, Grant Levy-Lucero, Shara Mays, Eric McHenry, Erick Medel, Wendi Men, Joel Mesler, Gena Milanesi, Lizbeth Mitty, Ana Morales, Susan Moss, Enoc Perez, Kristopher Raos, Paul Ritter, Conrad Ruíz, Joani Tremblay, Anna Valdez, Kelli Vance, Chloe West, Mark Whalen, and Allison Zuckerman
Time on my hands
Casa Gilardi
November 08 - December 03, 2023
www.casagilardi.mx
‘Time on my hands’ an exhibition by Mark Whalen at Casa Gilardi presented by SAENGER Galería.
Mark Whalen’s latest show “Time on my hands”, is his first solo exhibition in Mexico City. Mark’s versatile and interdisciplinary practice is characterized by his distinctive maquettes rendered in bold, expansive fields of color. Casa Gilardi’s playfulness: its deep reds the color of Mexican sweets, the swimming pool’s magenta wall added for pleasure, and brightly painted walls smoothed down to give the illusion of light, is reflected in Whalen’s florescent hues, comical facial characteristics, and body language. Whalen’s sculptures explore the everyday. Exaggerated facial expressions create an overarching narrative: each body part belongs to a single fictional protagonist, cumulating to represent the vast spectrum of human emotion. Much like Barragan has centered the domestic Casa Gilardi around the jacaranda tree, Whalen has paired these human-like figurations with everyday household items, thus encouraging us to explore uncanny relationships between object and person. As Barragán’s purple wall in the courtyard mimics the shade of the jacaranda flowers, and the blue walls in the front courtyard reflect the sky above, Whalen in turn beautifully mirrors the house’s unique elements of light, colour and texture.
– Charlotte Mattocks – Station Gallery
CASA GILARDI
Casa Gilardi located in the San Miguel Chapultepec neighborhood of Mexico City is the last project built and designed by Mexican architect Luis Barragán in 1976, when he was 80 years old. It is considered a classic example of the influential architect’s work in combining the Mexican vernacular with the vivid use of European modernism, thus forming part of his architectural testament.
The house was commissioned by Pancho Gilardi and Martín Luque partners in an advertising agency, after Barragán had formally retired. Barragán accepted the commission attracted by two conditions of the project: the enormous Jacarandá tree that should be kept on the site, and the swimming pool requested by the owners as part of the program.
Its main characteristic lies not only in its architecture but in the multitude of sensations that its spaces offer, through the games of lights, colors, distribution, and architectural elements, such as the staircase without railing that seems to levitate under overhead light. A yellow light that passes through small vertical openings, floods the corridor that reaches a minimalist space with a reflecting pool next to the dining room, where a red painted wall supports the skylight.
Frieze Seoul
COEX, Gangnam, Seoul
September 06 - 09, 2023
Station Gallery
www.stationgallery.com
STATION is delighted to participate in Frieze Seoul. Our presentation brings together three well-known contemporary Australian artists: Polly Borland, Tom Polo, and Mark Whalen. These artists individually question and transcend the portraiture genre through ambiguous and abstracted portrayals of the self, explored in the disciplines of photography, painting, and sculpture.
About Mark Whalen
Mark Whalen
B. 1982, Sydney, Australia
Mark Whalen’s versatile and interdisciplinary practice explores sculpture video with scales ranging from small table – based works to large immersive sculptures. Whalen’s moquettes are realised in the digital realm, intentionally without gender or physical body, then fabricated with polyurethane and cast aluminum and marble. In bright colors, the distinctive and exaggerated facial characteristics and body language concurrently shift Under the weight of social anxieties. The resulting figurations are part of an overarching narrative : each body part belongs to a single fictional protagonist, cumulating to represent vast spectrum of human emotion.
Whalen has exhibited extensively internationally, including at Centro de Arte Contemporaneo De Malaga, Spain; Museum of Contemporary Art Maco Italy, National Gallery of Australia; and the National Gallery of Victoria, Australia
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2023
Casa Gilardi, Galerie Saenger Mexico City
Frieze Seoul, Station Gallery . Poly Borland , Mark Whalen, Tom Polo
Marfa invitational , Over the influence .Solo presentation
Art SG sinagpore, Over the influence
2022
Close my eyes, over the influence Bangkok
2021
Mark Whalen. I Am Just Here, CAC Málaga, Centro de Arte Contemporáneo de Málaga, España
2020
Gentle Reminders, Over the influence Hong Kong
2019
Like Minded, Sophie Gannon Gallery
Ramble Ramble, Over the influence Gallery
2018
Squeeze, Edwina Corlette Gallery Grab Bag, Arsham Fieg Gallery
2017
Pressure, Black Art projects, Melbourne Australia Bindings, Pop68/Ruttowski 68, Cologne Germany
2016
Around The Bend, Chalk Horse Gallery Sydney Collisions, Sanderson Contemporary
2015
Occupied, Emma BeD Gallery, Hobart
Trapezoid, Merry Karnowsky Gallery, Los Angeles Between the Cracks, Edwina Corlette Gallery, Brisbane Improper Fraction, Chalk Horse Gallery, Sydney
2014
Peculiarities, Melbourne Art Fair – Black Art projects Stranded, Merry Karnowsky gallery
2013
I’ll meet you in the middle, Black art projects at Future Perfect, Singapore Maze Walkers, Black art projects at Chalk Horse, Sydney
2012
Hallucination, Melbourne Art Fair, Edwina Corlette Gallery
2011
One Moment Please, Gallery A.S, Sydney Anomaly, Merry Karnowsky Gallery, Los Angeles White Out, Black art projects, Melbourne
2010
Observatory, Edwina Corlette Gallery, Brisbane
2009
Supreme Beings, Merry Karnowsky Gallery, Berlin
I’ll hit you up tomorrow, Merry Karnowsky Gallery, Los Angeles
2008
Super Systems, Merry Karnowsky Gallery, Berlin Everything’s AOK, UnYl Never Gallery, Melbourne
2007
Kill Communication, Monster Children Gallery, Sydney Bailbond, China Heights Gallery, Sydney
2006
UnYl Never Gallery, Melbourne
In the Woods, China Heights Gallery, Sydney, China Heights Gallery, Sydney
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2018
The Rigg Prize, National Gallery of Victoria, Sophie Gannon Gallery & Flack Studio Kronenberg Wright Projects
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Artbank
National Gallery of Australia Mainland Art Fund
National Gallery of Victoria, Australia
GROUP SHOWS
2023
AishaNanzuka – Intersections
Needles and Pins – The Mass, Tokyo
Crescent Heights – Harpers gallery, Los Angeles
2022
ART BASEL Hong Kong, Yavuz Gallery, Yeo Kaa, Julian Meagher , Patricia Piccinini , Mark Whalen and Grace Wright
WESTBUND art fair, Yavuz Gallery – Mark Whalen, Nicholas Ong, Andre Hemer
2020
Taipei Dangdai – over the influence
2019
Untitled art fair – Group show, Over the influence
Art Basel – Yavuz gallery
2017
MCA Art Bar, curated by Reko Rennie, Museum of contemporary Figured out, Andrew Rafcaz gallery
www.overtheinfluence.com HONG KONG | LOS ANGELES
2016
Immersion, Richard Heller Gallery
Project 16: The Agency of Things – Anna Pappas Gallery,
Art Central Hong Kong, Mark Whalen, Jasper Night, Dean Brown
2013
New Neon: Light, Painting & Photography, Bedford Gallery, Lesher Center for the Arts, California
Full Court Press, Artereal Gallery, Sydney
Gliterers Anonymous, RMIT School of Art, Melbourne
Fhloston Paradise, Merry Karnowsky Gallery, Los Angeles
2012
Midnight on the Sun, Fecal Face, San Francisco Portals, Merry Karnowsky Gallery, Los Angeles
2011
STEP09 with Black art projects, Milan
Super Heroes, Edwina Corlette Gallery, Brisbane
Merry Karnowsky 2 Projects, Merry Karnowsky Gallery, Los Angeles 100, Langford 120 with Black art projects, Melbourne
Artpad, San Francisco, Merry Karnowsky Gallery
2010-11
Space Invaders, National touring exhibition, Australia
2010
Disorder, Disorder, Penrith Regional Gallery, Australia
2009
Apocalypse Wow, Museum of Contemporary Art Macro, Rome The Mirror Stage, Monster Children Gallery, Sydney
Hard Lee, Merry Karnowsky Gallery, Berlin
Edwina Corlette Gallery, Brisbane
Out3, Mostra Internacional d’art Urba Publicitari, Barcelona
2008
Small Gems, Metro 5 Gallery, Melbourne
Subliminal Projects, Park Life Gallery, San Francisco
Mark Whalen and Cleon Peterson, White Walls Gallery, San Francisco Mark Whalen and Ryan Shaffer, Park Life Gallery, San Francisco
The Alternative Philosophy, Leonard Street Gallery, London
Hard Lee, Merry Karnowsky Gallery, Los Angeles
Welcome Home, Fecal face
High Math, Pool Gallery, Berlin
2007
Replace ‘please’ with ‘fast’ and ‘thank you’ with ‘good’,The Lab 101 Gallery, Los Angeles Fecal Face 7.5 Anniversary, 111 Minna Gallery, San Francisco
Across the Board, Wall Space Gallery, Sydney
Bootlegger, UnYl Never Gallery, Melbourne
Refill Seven, MTV Gallery Mini Pieces, Melbourne Museum
2006
Sixteen x Twelve, Monster Children Gallery, Sydney All Style City, China Heights Gallery, Sydney Semi-permanent, The Breadbox Gallery
What the fuck?, Monster Children Gallery, Sydney
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Artbank
National Gallery of Australia Mainland Art Fund
National Gallery of Victoria, Australia