Halcyon (2014)
acrylic & colour pencil on board, panel: 801 x 960 x 49 mm 1
Koya-san (2014)
acrylic & colour pencil on board, panel: 801 x 961 x 49 mm
Sovereign (2014)
acrylic & colour pencil on board, panel: 1200 x 1398 x 49 mm
State of Origin (2013)
diptych; acrylic & colour pencil on board, overall size: 1997 x 2410 x 49 mm
Hemispheres (2014)
acrylic on board, panel: 480 x 400 x 44 mm
Bashi (2014)
acrylic & colour pencil on board, panel: 480 x 400 x 44 mm
Wood Friends (2014)
acrylic & colour pencil on board, panel: 480 x 400 x 44 mm
Night Fishing in Haeundae (2014)
acrylic on board, panel: 480 x 400 x 44 mm
ThelandscapescreatedbyMarcBlakein Together in a Sudden Strangeness aresuggestionsofplaceratherthandefinitiverecords.Hisdelicatelyapplied colourandsubtleoutlineshaveadreamlikequality,andtheother-worldhe hascreatedalreadyseemstobemeltingaway.
Blake’slandscapesmaybeconsideredinlightof19th centuryRomanticism, suggestingastheydoanineffablebeauty,thetransitorynatureofwhich evokesfeelingsofmelancholyandnostalgia. Thedappledlightandfalling blossomsof State of Origin revealasinglemomentthathasalreadypassed, leavingthevieweryearningforsomethinginexpressible.Thesofttonesthat lightupBlake’sforestgladesandslicesoflifearethecoloursofreminiscence: the‘goldensummer’.Blakedeliberatelyleaveshisfiguresundefinedand createsemptinessinthecentreofhisworks,andthesegesturesactas invitationsfortheviewertoplacethemselvesintheworkandtoexperience forthemselvestheinstanthehascaptured.
Workingonhispreferredmediumofplywood,Blakedoesnothidethewhorls ofthegrain;previouslyhehasincorporatedtheselinesintothetopographyof hislandscapes,whileheretheyfloatjustunderneaththetranslucent applicationsofcolour.Thisvisibilityoftheunderlyingmediumreinforcesthe illusorynatureofthepaintedscene,anillusionfurtherenhancedbythe physicalindentationsBlakeusesasameansoftransferringimages.The outlinesoftrees,shadowsandfiguresbecomepartoftheply,dissolvingany boundarybetweensurfaceandimage,andrevealingthehandoftheartist.
MARC BLAKE
b. 1974, lives Auckland
FutureFund(2011)
“I seek to create paintings that contemplate notions of time, space, experience and the interconnectivity of things.”(1)
Found images and photographs are used by Marc Blake to create dream-like landscapes where time and place are undefined. They suggest hazy, half-remembered instances, this feeling enhanced by the luminous, transparent surface, produced by careful layering of glaze and pigment.
In a world that displays ever more connectivity but, paradoxically, ever more disconnection, Blake examines ideas of isolation within a multitude, the transitory nature of the moment, and the uncertainty of the future.
Marc Blake was born in Auckland where he lived and studied gaining a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from the University of Auckland. After time spent in Japan, Sydney and South Korea, Blake has now returned to New Zealand. A regular exhibitor since 2002, he has participated in solo and group exhibitions at private galleries and public institutions including the Kyoto Cultural Museum, BankART Yokohama, and the Auckland Art Gallery.
A multiple finalist in the Wallace Trust Awards since 2008, Blake’s entry, Future Fund, in 2011was selected to be part of the Wallace Trust exhibition that travelled to the Dowse Art Museum in Wellington. Blake has also been selected for continued addition to the Wallace Arts Trust collection in order to provide a ‘diary’ of his practice within the collection and to create a collector’s record of his oeuvre.
Blake’s works are held in the Wallace Trust Collection as well as in private collections throughout New Zealand and abroad.
1. MarcBlake,Artist’sStatement,2012
MARC BLAKE
b. 1974, lives Auckland
EDUCATION
Bachelor of Arts (English Literature), University of Auckland
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2014 Together in a Sudden Strangeness, milford galleries Queenstown
2013 The Powers That Be, Dacre St Studios, Auckland
2012 Relativity, Milford Galleries Dunedin
Analogue, Michael Reid Gallery, Sydney, Australia
2011 Status Update, Milford Galleries Dunedin
2008 Nothing Like This, Backspace, Christchurch
2007
2006
Condensed History, Aveia Gallery, Auckland
Where It All Begins, Backspace Gallery, Christchurch
Watergarden, Arts Council Koganecho, Yokohama, Japan
2000 New Paintings, EON, Auckland
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2014
L’Estrange Gallery, Christchurch
2013 Small Works, Milford Galleries Dunedin
Artmonth Sydney - Collaboration with traditional Japanese Tattoo artist Horimyo, Pop
Tarts, Sydney, Australia
Recent Acquisitions, Wallace Arts Centre, Auckland
L’Estrange Gallery, Christchurch
Michael Reid Gallery, Sydney, Australia
Scott Livesey Galleries, Melbourne, Australia
2012 Summer Show, Milford Galleries Dunedin
Container Art, Public Installation, Christchurch
Scott Livesey Galleries, Melbourne, Australia
Recent Acquisitions, Wallace Arts Centre, Auckland
The Surreal, Milford Galleries Dunedin
2011 Wallace Art Awards, Auckland
The Dowse Art Museum, Lower Hutt
Summer Show, Milford Galleries Dunedin
2010 Introducing Marc Blake and Tim Thatcher, Milford Galleries Dunedin
Wallace Art Awards, Auckland
Anna Pappas Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
2008 Wallace Art Awards, Auckland
New Zealand Painting & Printmaking Award, Auckland
Anthony Harper Award for Contemporary Art, Christchurch
New Zealand Fashion Week, Auckland
2007 Off The Wall Project, Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland
Light and Dark, Satellite Gallery, Auckland
Backspace, Wellington, New Zealand
2006 In the Midst (with Jos Wheeler) (independent), Auckland
2005 3rd Annual Amuse Artjam, Kyoto Cultural Museum, Kyoto, Japan
FIVE (with Ko Masuda), BankART Studio NYK, Yokohama, Japan
AWARDS
2013 Finalist, Wallace Art Awards
Finalist, Parkin Drawing Prize
2011 Finalist, Wallace Art Awards
2010 Finalist, Wallace Art Awards
2008 Finalist, New Zealand Painting & Printmaking Award
Finalist, Anthony Harper Award for Contemporary Art
Finalist, Wallace Art Awards
2005 Two month studio residency & exhibition, BankART NYK, Yokohama, Japan
Finalist, 3Rd Annual Amuse Inc. Artjam, Kyoto Cultural Museum, Kyoto, Japan
COLLECTIONS
The Wallace Arts Trust (Currently eight works in collection – selected as a “diary” artist for ongoing career collection)
Private collections within New Zealand, Australia, Japan, South Korea, USA and the UK
StateofOrigin(2013)
