Artist Statement

Artist Biography

Using clues such as color, contrast, and texture, your mind structures the visual world into surfaces that, when necessary, you recognize as familiar objects. In this process of structuring the world into surfaces, your mind also sort this information into different depths or layers.

My work plays with these clues to influence how your mind assembles this visual information into a meaningful scene. I'm especially interested in patterns that consist of many different layers or depths of information. I find that viewing nature from a very close distance provides complex overlapping textures to sort through, divide, and connect -- much like a visual puzzle or riddle.

My most recent work combines abstract shapes and folds with contrasting colors to create surfaces that provide many ambiguous interpretations. This work builds on the tendency for people to see faces in abstract shapes.

Mark Marrara is best known for his works that examine and tease the rules that our minds use to make sense of the visual world. His philosophy and approach combine training in the visual arts with training and research in Cognitive Psychology. Mark received his B.F.A. (1994) from the University of Kansas and his M.S. (1996) and Ph.D. (1999) in Cognitive Psychology from Penn State. While considered an emerging artist, his works are in several private collections, and he is beginning to exhibit nationally.

Recent Exhibitions

• Online juried gallery: Portal Wisconsin
• Knapp House Artist (March 2005, solo show)
• Direct Art, Volume 11
• Layered Intentions, Gallery III, Overture Center for the Arts, Madison (July 2005, juried group show)
• Brain Depository, Milwaukee (Gallery Night, August 2005)
• 8th Annual Painting, Drawing, & Print Online International Art Exhibition, Upstream People Gallery (November 2006, juried group show). Juror's special recognition awarded to "Handshake."
• Independent Studios, Milwaukee
• Arte Natura, Limner Gallery, Hudson, NY (May 2007, juried group show).
• 9th Annual Abstraction International Art Exhibition, Upstream People Gallery (October 2007, juried group show). Juror's special recognition awarded to 2 pieces.
• Direct Art, Volume 14