Mark Gleason
Mark Gleason was born in 1962 in Greenwich, CT, and has been creating visual art since childhood. In 1984 he moved to New York to obtain a bachelor of fine arts degree in studio arts from Syracuse University. Gleason later moved back to Connecticut where he received a master of science in art education from the University of Bridgeport. Gleason enjoys the private act of painting, as well as the public process of being an educator.
Gleason’s psychically charged mythical realism focuses on figures and liminal spaces in our increasingly fragile environment. His animals and individuals explore connections and emphasize emotional meaning through pose, composition, and lighting. Elements of fire, water, earth, and sky feature prominently in his work, and he also relates these to his color palette.
Drawing on approaches and references from literature, music, philosophy, ecology, and the figurative old masters, Gleason’s oil paintings are at once visceral, austere, mischievous, and absurd.
“I paint from my inside outward, and the painting surface is corporeal. Though I work quite deliberately, consciously employing both traditional and innovative techniques, my unconscious associations direct my images, narratives, and themes. Somewhere between inception and completion I ask the painting to convey a narrative and to astonish, disturb, seduce and convince.”
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Con Amor y Furia Sold -
Rage on Omnipotent
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Disobey
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Desafio
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Amygdala
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Spitfire Sold
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Daemon
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I Am Not
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Whereof One Cannot Speak
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Talus Sold
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Qui Vive
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Spiderland
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Regard Sold
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Vaigyaghra Sold
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Arete Sold
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Assouf
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Heads
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Movement Sold
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Lophophora Williamsu
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Belladonna Atropa
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Erythroxylum Coca
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Salvia Divinorum
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Beckett Chair
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Holiday Open House
December 2 - 16, 2023Burlingame, CA - As the holiday season unfolds, Studio Shop Gallery is thrilled to announce its much-anticipated Holiday Open House, a celebration of art, community, and seasonal cheer. The event...Read more -
Mark Gleason's Equine Series
October 13 - 31, 2023Mark Gleason’s psychically charged mythical realism focuses on figures and liminal spaces in our increasingly fragile environment. Drawing on approaches and references from literature, music, philosophy, ecology, and the figurative...Read more
EDUCATION
1989 Master of Science in Art Education, University of Bridgeport
1984 Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Arts, Syracuse University
EXHIBITIONS
2023
La Luz de Jesus Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, Nine Horses, solo exhibition
Arcadia Contemporary, New York, NY
LA Art Show, group exhibition
2022
Arcadia Contemporary, New York, NY, A Madness Most Discreet, solo spotlight exhibition
Arcadia Contemporary, New York, NY, The Frame Remains the Same, group exhibition
Two Art Gallery, Murcia, Spain, Héroes y Villanos, group exhibition
2021
Two Art Gallery, Murcia, Spain, Gore, group exhibition
Two Art Gallery, Murcia, Spain, Animal Farm, group exhibition
La Luz de Jesus Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, Clearing, group exhibition
Arcadia Contemporary, New York, Ny, Five and Under, group exhibition
Arcadia Contemporary, New York, NY, The Male of the Species, group exhibition
Higher Art Gallery, Traverse City, MI, Carry the Fire, solo exhibition
La Luz de Jesus Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, Onward 2.0-Portraiture & Figuration Biennial
Pence Gallery, Davis CA, New Year, New Directions, group exhibition
2020
Higher Art Gallery, Traverse City, MI, Citizens Coping, juried exhibition
Gallery 30 South, Pasadena, CA, The Coaster Show, juried exhibition
La Luz de Jesus Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, Wilderness, solo exhibition
Pence Gallery, Davis CA, Rare Birds, juried exhibition
La Luz de Jesus Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, Everything But the Kitschen Sync, juried exhibition
2019
Lore Degenstein Gallery, Susquehanna University, Selinsgrove, PA, Eleventh Annual Figurative Drawing Competition and Exhibition, juried exhibition
Dacia Gallery, New York, NY, Nine-Year Anniversary Exhibition, juried exhibition
Blackboard Gallery, Camarillo, CA, The Illusionists, juried exhibition to accompany The Representational Art Conference 2019
La Luz de Jesus Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, Laluzapalooza, juried exhibition
2018
La Luz de Jesus Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, 32nd Anniversary Drawing Show, juried exhibition
Studio Gallery SF, San Francisco, CA, The Tiny Show, group exhibition
Storpunkt, Munich Germany, Half a Pound of Art, group exhibition
La Luz de Jesus Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, Sleepless, solo exhibition
La Luz de Jesus Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, Laluzapalooza, juried exhibition
Pence Gallery, Davis, CA, Corporeal, solo exhibition
2017
La Luz de Jesus, Los Angeles, CA, 31st Anniversary Drawing Show, juried exhibition
Pence Gallery, Davis, CA, The Tiny Show, group exhibition
La Luz de Jesus,Los Angeles, CA, Laluzapalooza, juried exhibition
Storpunkt, Munich Germany, Half a Pound of Art, group exhibition
2016
Stephen Romano Gallery, Brooklyn, NY, Destinisia, group exhibition
La Luz de Jesus, Los Angeles, CA, Laluzapalooza, juried exhibition
Copro Gallery, Santa Monica, CA, BeinArt Surreal Show, group exhibition
La Luz de Jesus, Los Angeles, CA, Blood and Fire, solo exhibition
2015
Queen Mary Luxury Liner, Long Beach, CA, Ink N Iron Art Gathering, curated exhibition
La Luz de Jesus Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, Laluzapalooza, juried exhibition
2014
Kwan Fong Gallery, California Lutheran University, Thousand Oaks, CA, Running With Scissors, group exhibition
The Harwood Museum of Art of the University of New Mexico, Taos, NM, Lowbrow Insurgence: The Rise of Post-Pop Art, group exhibition
Begovich Gallery, Cal State University, Fullerton, CA, Hearsay, group exhibition
2013
La Luz de Jesus, Los Angeles, CA, Darklands, solo exhibition
La Luz de Jesus, Los Angeles, CA, Laluzapalooza, juried exhibition
2012
Copro Gallery, Santa Monica, CA, Anomalies, group exhibition
Grand Theatre Center for the Arts, Tracy, CA, Beauty...it’s not pretty, group exhibition
2011
La Luz de Jesus, Los Angeles, CA
La Luz de Jesus 25, group exhibition
Los Angeles Municipal Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, Beyond Eden, group exhibition
Mondo Bizzarro Gallery, Rome, Italy, The New Lost Generation, group exhibition
La Luz de Jesus, Los Angeles, CA, Mannerism, two-person exhibition
La Luz de Jesus, Los Angeles, CA, Everything But The Kitschen Sync, juried exhibition
2010
La Luz de Jesus, Los Angeles, CA, Everything But The Kitschen Sync, juried exhibition
2009
Cella Gallery, North Hollywood, CA, Persona, solo exhibition
La Luz de Jesus, Los Angeles, CA, Everything But The Kitschen Sync, juried exhibition
2008
Los Angeles Municipal Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, East Of Eden, group exhibition supported by The Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art.
La Luz de Jesus, Los Angeles, CA, Mark Gleason & Caia Koopman, two-person exhibition
La Luz de Jesus, Los Angeles, CA, Everything But The Kitschen Sync, juried exhibition
Roq La Rue, Seattle, WA, A Cabinet of Natural Curiosities, group exhibition
Rake Art Gallery, Portland, OR, Rake Art Invitational, group exhibition.
2007
Gallery Eleven, Fairfield CT, Glimpse, group exhibition.
La Luz de Jesus, Los Angeles, CA, Everything But The Kitschen Sync, juried exhibition
Grey McGear Modern, Santa Monica, CA
2006
Gallery LeLe, Tokyo, Japan, I See Blythe, group exhibition
La Luz de Jesus, Los Angeles, CA, August Show, group exhibition
City Art, San Francisco, CA, Group exhibition
La Luz de Jesus, Los Angeles, CA
Everything But The Kitschen Sync, juried exhibition, Grey McGear Modern, Santa Monica, CA
2005
City Art, San Francisco, CA, Group exhibition
La Luz de Jesus, Los Angeles, CA, Everything But The Kitschen Sync, juried exhibition
City Art, San Francisco, CA, Group exhibition
2004
Gallery Eleven, Fairfield, CT, Flora and Fauna, group exhibition.
Gallery Eleven, Fairfield. CT, Mark Gleason, solo exhibition.
2003
Gallery Eleven, Fairfield, CT, Horses, group exhibition.
Gallery Eleven, Fairfield, CT, Recent Work, solo exhibition.
Wilton Library, Wilton, CT, 4 Winners, group exhibition.
2002
Zellner Gallery, Wilton, CT, Perception and Reality, juried exhibition. Winner: Best in Show
Weston Public Library, Weston, MA, Figuration, solo exhibition.
Westport Arts Center, Westport, CT, Inaugural Members Exhibition
Zellner Gallery, Wilton, CT, Color and Curves, member exhibition., Winner: Third Place
2001
Wilton Library, Wilton, CT, Sky, two-person exhibit.
John Slade Ely House, New Haven, CT, New Haven Paint and Clay Members Exhibition.
Ridgefield Guild of Artists, Ridgefield, CT, Meet The Artists series, two-person exhibit.
Silvermine Guild Arts Center, New Canaan, CT, New Members Exhibition.
2000
The Betty Barker Gallery at the Carriage Barn Arts Center, New Canaan, CT, Spectrum 2000, juried exhibition.
John Slade Ely House, New Haven, CT, New Haven Paint and Clay, juried exhibition.
1999
The Cannondale Gallery, Wilton, CT, Closing House, group exhibiton.
Max’s, Westport, CT, Solo display.
The Betty Barker Gallery at the Carriage Barn Arts Center, New Canaan, CT, Group exhibition.
The Betty Barker Gallery at the Carriage Barn Arts Center, New Canaan, CT, Spectrum 1999, juried exhibition.
1998
The Cannondale Gallery, Wilton, CT, Works In Oil, three-person exhibit.
Wilton Library, Wilton, CT, Solo exhibition.
The Betty Barker Gallery at the Carriage Barn Arts Center, New Canaan, CT, Spectrum 1998, juried exhibiton.
Wilton Library, Wilton, CT, Cannondale Gallery at the Wilton Library, group exhibition.
1997
The Cannondale Gallery, Wilton, CT, Meteorology, group exhibiton.
The Betty Barker Gallery at the Carriage Barn Arts Center, New Canaan, CT, Spectrum 1997, juried exhibition.
Cat Black Gallery, Westport, CT, Valentine Show, group exhibition.
1995
John Slade Ely House, New Haven, CT, Figuratively Speaking, group exhibition.
Silvermine Guild Arts Center, New Canaan, CT, Art of the Northeast USA, juried exhibiton,
Borders Bookstore, Stamford, CT, solo exhibition.
