Mark Whalen

Born 1982 in Sydney, Australia. Lives and Works in Los Angeles, California, USA.

Mark Whalen’s versatile and interdisciplinary practice explores sculpture 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.

1982年出生於澳洲悉尼。在美國加州洛杉磯生活和工作。

Whalen 的作品主要透過於迷幻世界中的瑣事日常諷刺社會。 Whalen 擅於將工業材料與工作室隨手可得的物品與日常主題混合在一起，以數碼骨架塑造性別模糊的人類造像，透過聚氨酯、鑄鋁和大理石元素生動地去描繪生活的愚蠢。他的雕塑作品像是在訴說生命中的曲折離奇，同時又提出一堆關於演化和人生的問題，引人入勝。

Whelan以深藍色、猩紅色和洋紅色與一系列的明亮色調並列，與朦朧的迷幻氛圍一致。畫作中人物的抽象角度和強烈的幾何圖案Whelan探討了我們作為個體和物種在生活中經歷複雜的位移和定位。他的作品喚起了人性的本質，每個身體部位都屬於一個虛構的主角，同時又被社交焦慮扭曲，背負著人生的五味雜陳。每個雕塑都邀請觀眾與其同在，圍繞細看，細味當中的故事或提出更多問題。

PREVIOUS EXHIBITIONS

2023
Time on My Hands - A show by Mark Whalen at Casa Gilardi | Saenger Galería | Mexico City, Mexico
2022
Close My Eyes | Over the Influence | Bangkok, Thailand
2021
I Am Just Here | CAC MÁLAGA | Malaga, Spain
2020
Gentle Reminders | Over the Influence | Hong Kong
2019
Ramble Ramble | Over the Influence | Los Angeles, CA
Like Minded | Sophie Gannon Gallery | Melbourne, Australia
2018
Squeeze | Edwina Corlette Gallery | New Farm, Queensland, Australia
2017
Pressure | Black Art projects | Melbourne, Australia
Bindings | Pop68/Ruttowski 68 | Cologne, Germany
2016
Around the Bend | Chalk Horse | Sydney, Australia
2015
Occupied | Emma BeD Gallery | Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Trapezoid | Merry Karnowsky Gallery | Los Angeles, CA, USA
Between the Cracks | Edwina Corlette Gallery | Brisbane, Australia
Improper Fraction | Chalk Horse Gallery | Sydney, Australia
2014
Stranded | Merry Karnowsky gallery | Los Angeles, CA, USA
2013
I’ll meet you in the middle | Black art projects at Future Perfect | Singapore
Maze Walkers | Black art projects at Chalk Horse | Sydney, Australia
2011
One Moment Please | Gallery A.S | Sydney, Australia
Anomaly | Merry Karnowsky Gallery | Los Angeles, CA, USA
White Out | Black art projects | Melbourne, Australia
2010
Observatory | Edwina Corlette Gallery | Brisbane, Australia
2009
Supreme Beings | Merry Karnowsky Gallery | Berlin, Germany
I’ll hit you up tomorrow | Merry Karnowsky Gallery | Los Angeles, CA, USA
2008
Super Systems | Merry Karnowsky Gallery | Berlin, Germany
Everything’s AOK | UnYl Never Gallery | Melbourne, Australia
2007
Kill Communication | Monster Children Gallery | Sydney, Australia
Bailbond | China Heights Gallery | Sydney, Australia
2006
Solo Exhibition | UnYl Never Gallery | Melbourne, Australia
In the Woods | China Heights Gallery | Sydney, Australia
2024
Intersections | AISHONANZUKA | Hong Kong
2023
Boundless | Over the Influence | Hong Kong
2019
Street art, NOVIA Art Gallery
2018
The Rigg Prize | Flack Studio, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne Kronenberg Wright Projects | Sydney, Australia
A Tree Falls in the Woods - curated by FMLY Projects | Hashimoto Contemporary | San Francisco, CA
2017
Figurative Futures | 101/EXHIBIT | Los Angeles, CA
Figure Out! Bodily Form in Contemporary Ceramics | Andrew Rafasz Gallery | Chicago, IL, USA
2016
Immersion | Richard Heller Gallery | Santa Monica, CA, USA
Project 16: The Agency of Things | Anna Pappas Gallery | Melbourne, Australia
TWELVE DAYS | The Cat Street Gallery | Hong Kong
Konstructs | Richard Heller Gallery | Los Angeles, CA, USA
2013
New Neon: Light, Painting & Photography | Bedford Gallery, Lesher Center for the Arts | California, USA
Full Court Press | Artereal Gallery | Sydney, Australia
Kirk Pedersen: The Urban Asia Series and the Evolution of Zero+ Publishing | Offramp Gallery | Pasadena, CA, USA
10 Year Anniversary Show | White Walls | San Francisco, CA, USA
Gliterers Anonymous | RMIT School of Art | Melbourne, Australia
Fhloston Paradise | Merry Karnowsky Gallery | Los Angeles, CA, USA
2012
Midnight on the Sun | Fecal Face | San Francisco, CA, USA
Portals | Merry Karnowsky Gallery | Los Angeles, CA, USA
2011
STEP09 with Black art projects | Milan
Super Heroes | Edwina Corlette Gallery | Brisbane, Australia
Merry Karnowsky 2 Projects | Merry Karnowsky Gallery | Los Angeles
100, Langford 120 with Black art projects | Melbourne, Australia
2010-11
Space Invaders | National touring exhibition | Australia
2010
Disorder | Penrith Regional Gallery | Australia
2009
Apocalypse Wow | Museum of Contemporary Art Macro | Rome
The Mirror Stage | Monster Children Gallery | Sydney, Australia
Hard Lee | Merry Karnowsky Gallery | Berlin, Germany
2008
Small Gems | Metro 5 Gallery | Melbourne, Australia
Subliminal Projects | Park Life Gallery | San Francisco, CA, USA
Mark Whalen and Cleon Peterson | White Walls Gallery | San Francisco, CA, USA
Mark Whalen and Ryan Shaffer | Park Life Gallery | San Francisco, CA, USA
The Alternative Philosophy | Leonard Street Gallery | London, UK
Hard Lee | Merry Karnowsky Gallery | Los Angeles, CA, USA
Welcome Home | Fecal face
High Math | Pool Gallery | Berlin, Germany
2007
Replace ‘please’ with ‘fast’ and ‘thank you’ with ‘good’ | The Lab 101 Gallery | Los Angeles, CA, USA
Fecal Face 7.5 Anniversary | 111 Minna Gallery | San Francisco, CA, USA
Across the Board | Wall Space Gallery | Sydney, Australia
Bootlegger | UnYl Never Gallery | Melbourne, Australia
Refill Seven | MTV Gallery Mini Pieces | Melbourne Museum, Australia
2006
Sixteen x Twelve | Monster Children Gallery, Sydney, Australia
All Style City | China Heights Gallery | Sydney, Australia
Semi-permanent | The Breadbox Gallery |
What the fuck? | Monster Children Gallery | Sydney, Australia
Artbank | Australia
National Gallery of Australia | Canberra, Australia
Mainland Art Fund | Melbourne, Australia

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