Pattern Playing Mark Whalen Mark Whalen - Pattern Playing
Pattern Playing 2011
Pattern PlayingMark WhalenPattern Playing
Pattern Playing2011
acrylic, ink & gouache on paper mounted to wood, resin coated
20 x 13 cm
SOLD 
Perfecting Balance Mark Whalen Mark Whalen - Perfecting Balance
Perfecting Balance 2011
Perfecting BalanceMark WhalenPerfecting Balance
Perfecting Balance2011
acrylic, ink & gouache on paper mounted to wood, resin coated
20 x 13 cm
SOLD 
Studio View Mark Whalen Mark Whalen - Studio View
Studio View 2012
Studio ViewMark WhalenStudio View
Studio View2012
los angeles
NFS  ENQUIRE
Geo Leaf Mark Whalen Mark Whalen - Geo Leaf
Geo Leaf 2011
Geo LeafMark WhalenGeo Leaf
Geo Leaf2011
acrylic, ink & gouache on paper mounted to wood, resin coated
20 x 13 cm
SOLD 
Studying Nature Mark Whalen Mark Whalen - Studying Nature
Studying Nature 2010
Studying NatureMark WhalenStudying Nature
Studying Nature2010
acrylic, ink & gouache on paper mounted to wood, resin coated
44 x 34 cm
SOLD 
Downward Dog Mark Whalen Mark Whalen - Downward Dog
Downward Dog 2011
Downward DogMark WhalenDownward Dog
Downward Dog2011
acrylic, ink & gouache on paper mounted to wood, resin coated
20 x 13 cm
SOLD 
Sculpture Mark Whalen Mark Whalen - Sculpture
Sculpture 2010
SculptureMark WhalenSculpture
Sculpture2010
acrylic, ink & gouache on paper mounted to wood, resin coated
44 x 34 cm
SOLD 
Gardens Mark Whalen Mark Whalen - Gardens
Gardens 2010
GardensMark WhalenGardens
Gardens2010
acrylic, ink & gouache on paper mounted to wood, resin coated
29 x 23 cm
SOLD 
Cubicles Mark Whalen Mark Whalen - Cubicles
Cubicles 2010
CubiclesMark WhalenCubicles
Cubicles2010
acrylic, ink & gouache on paper on wood, resin coated
45 x 60 cm
SOLD 
Patience Mark Whalen Mark Whalen - Patience
Patience 2010
PatienceMark WhalenPatience
Patience2010
acrylic, ink & gouache on paper mounted to wood, resin coated
29 x 23 cm
SOLD 
Untitled 16 Mark Whalen Mark Whalen - Untitled 16
Untitled 16 2010
Untitled 16Mark WhalenUntitled 16
Untitled 162010
acrylic, ink & gouache on paper mounted to wood, resin coated
20 x 13 cm
SOLD 
Statute Mark Whalen Mark Whalen - Statute
Statute 2010
StatuteMark WhalenStatute
Statute2010
acrylic, ink & gouache on paper mounted to wood, resin coated
29 x 23 cm
SOLD 
Grow Mark Whalen Mark Whalen - Grow
Grow 2010
GrowMark WhalenGrow
Grow2010
acrylic, ink & gouache on paper mounted to wood, resin coated
29 x 23 cm
SOLD 
Untitled 7 Mark Whalen Mark Whalen - Untitled 7
Untitled 7 2010
Untitled 7Mark WhalenUntitled 7
Untitled 72010
acrylic, ink & gouache on paper mounted to wood, resin coated
20 x 13 cm
SOLD 

WATCH A MARK WHALEN STUDIO GLIMPSE HERE

As observed through Mark Whalen’s eyes, the world is a strange and curious place. His paintings, ceramics and sculpture explore darkly comic, elegant tableaux alive with futuristic mini-dramas. Sexual play, arm wrestling competitions, and ominous rituals are the norm. Potted plants, smiley faces, and scientific information vie for our attention: fences and dead-ends abound. He grants an endearing single-mindedness to his cookie-cutter beings in pursuit of their tiny barbarisms. In short, their bliss depends on staying “inside the box”.

“All my work is quite small and intricate – it’s an obsession. I use familiarity, surprise and repetition to play with skewed narratives of everyday events,” he says. Hieronymous Bosch and M.C. Escher are acknowledged influences, as are his research into subjects as diverse as Japanese folk art and Greek and Roman vase painting.

Whalen incorporates elements of decoration, graphic design and architectural rendering technique – props of our refined civilization – to comment on conventional social mores. For him, truth is to be found in looking beyond surfaces of cultural veneer to point out patterns of coercion and acquiescence. Those who research new ways of being – like his figures whose torches bravely light up territory outside the “box” – are the heroes.

Mark has exhibited his paintings, sculpture and ceramics throughout Australia and internationally. His work is held in the National Gallery of Australia collection, Artbank and numerous private collections. He currently lives in Los Angeles.

Mark Whalen

  • Born 1982, Sydney Australia
  • Lives and works in Los Angeles, California

EDUCATION

  • Diploma of Graphic Design, Martin College, Sydney

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2018

  • 'Squeeze', Edwina Corlette Gallery, Brisbane

2017

  • 'Bindings', Pop 68/Ruttowski 68, Cologne, Germany

2016

  • 'Around the Bend', Chalk Horse Gallery, Sydney
  • 'Collisions', Sanderson Contemporary, New Zealand

2015

  • 'Occupied', Emma Bett Gallery, Hobart, Tasmania
  • 'Trapezoid', KP Projects, Merry Karnowsky Gallery, Los Angeles
  • 'Between the Cracks', Edwina Corlette Gallery, Brisbane
  • 'Improper Fraction', Chalk Horse Gallery, Sydney

2014

  • 'Peculiarities', Melbourne Art Fair, Blackartprojects
  • 'Stranded', Merry Karnowsky Gallery

2013

  • 'I’ll Meet You In The Middle', Blackartprojects at Future Perfect, Singapore
  • 'Maze Walkers', Blackartprojects at Chalk Horse, Sydney

2012

  • 'Hallucination', Melbourne Art Fair, Edwina Corlette Gallery, Brisbane
  • 'Portals', Merry Karnowsky Gallery, Los Angeles

2011

  • 'One Moment Please', Gallery A.S, Sydney
  • 'Anomaly', Merry Karnowsky Gallery, Los Angeles
  • 'White Out', Blackartprojects, Melbourne

2010

  • 'Observatory', Edwina Corlette Gallery, Brisbane
  • 'Paralleled Opposites', Merry Karnowsky Gallery, Los Angeles

2009

  • 'Supreme Beings', Merry Karnowsky Gallery, Los Angeles
  • 'I’ll Hit You Up Tomorrow', Merry Karnowsky Gallery, Los Angeles

2008

  • 'Everything's AOK', Until Never, Melbourne
  • 'Super Systems', Merry Karnowsky Gallery, Los Angeles

2007

  • 'Kill Communication', Monster Children, Sydney
  • 'Bailbond', China Heights, Sydney

2006

  • 'In The Woods', collaboration between Kill Pixie & Edward Woodley, China Heights, Sydney
  • 'Kill Pixie', Until Never, Melbourne

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2018

  • Dalas Art Fair, Richard Heller Gallery, NYC
  • Melbourne Pop-Up Exhibition, Besser Space, Edwina Corlette Gallery, Brisbane

2016

  • 'Project 16: The Agency of Things', curated by Kent Williams, Anna Pappas Gallery,
    Melbourne
  • Art Central Hong Kong, Chalk Horse Gallery, Hong Kong

2013

  • 'New Neon: Light, Painting & Photography', Bedford Gallery, Lesher Center for the Arts, California
  • 'Full Court Press', Artereal Gallery, Sydney
  • 'Glitterers Anonymous', RMIT School of Art, Melbourne
  • 'Fhloston Paradise', Merry Karnowsky Gallery, Los Angeles

2012

  • 'Midnight on the Sun', Fecal Face, San Francisco

2010

  • Melbourne Art Fair, Edwina Corlette Gallery

2009

  • 'Vexta, Kill Pixie & Ari Athans', Edwina Corlette Gallery, Brisbane

2008

  • 'Park Life', Subliminal Projects, Los Angeles
  • 'Kill Pixie & Cleon Peterson', White Walls, San Francisco
  • 'Park Life Gallery', San Francisco
  • 'The Alternative Philosophy', Leonard St Gallery, London
  • 'Hard Left', Merry Karnowsky Gallery, Berlin
  • 'Everything's AOK', Until Never, Melbourne
  • 'Welcome Home', Fecal Face, San Francisco
  • 'High Math with Ed Templeton', Geoff McFetridge & Shepard Fairy, Pool Gallery, Berlin

2007

  • 'All Star Hustlers', White Walls Gallery, San Francisco
  • 'Replace 'Please' with Fast & 'Thank You' with Good', with Anthony Lister & Kelsey Brookes, The Lab 101, Los Angeles
  • 'Fecal Face 7.5 Anniversary Show', 111 Minna Gallery, San Francisco
  • 'Across the Board', Wall Space Gallery, Sydney
  • 'Brodeo with Bast', Kelsey Brookes, Date Farmers, Evan Hecox, Kill Pixie & Cleon Peterson, New Image Gallery, Los Angeles
  • 'Bootlegger', Until Never, Melbourne Refill Seven, MTV Gallery, Sydney
  • 'Mini Pieces Exhibition', curated by Life Lounge, Melbourne Museum Plaza
  • 'Bailbond', collaboration between Kill Pixie & Edward Woodley, China Heights, Sydney

COLLECTIONS

  • National Gallery of Australia
  • Goulburn Regional Gallery
  • Artbank
  • Mainland Art Fund, Melbourne
  • Private collections in Australia and the USA


December 2, 2015

Mark Whalen at The Standard, Los Angeles

Mark Whalen recently painted the 6th St Mural at The Standard Hotel in Los Angeles. Each month, the Standard invites an artist to paint a mural, often to comment on urban development and contemporary culture. The mural is a twelve by twenty-four meter public art space, located on a major public thoroughfare adjacent to the Standard. Photographer Bobby Alderman captured Mark in action.

View more work by Mark Whalen here.

March 3, 2015

Mark Whalen Exhibiting at the Town Hall Gallery in Hawthorn

Mark Whalen features in the group exhibition ‘Data Flow: Digital Influence’ at the Town Hall Gallery in Hawthorn, Victoria. The exhibition will run from 3 March – 12 April, 2015 and features a wide range of artists and artworks investigating how data flows through the productions of art in an increasingly digital world.

12 – 16 September 2018
SYDNEY CONTEMPORARY ART FAIR - DAN KYLE, MIRANDA SKOCZEK, MARK WHALEN, YARRENYTY ARLTERE ARTISTS

29 August 2018 – 15 September 2018
THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY EXHIBITION

18 – 30 June 2018
Mark Whalen ‘Squeeze’

4 – 30 April 2011
The Super Heroes

4 – 8 August 2010
Melbourne Art Fair

22 March 2010 – 10 April 2010
Mark Whalen ‘Observatory’

10 – 28 March 2009
Vexta, Kill Pixie & Ari Athans