Every Sunday, NEPA Creative turns the spotlight on some awesome creatives. This week, we have Mark Charles Rooney!
Since 1983, Mark has combined a painting and teaching career that together form the nucleus of his artistic niche. He currently maintains a studio in Hazleton and is a Professor of Fine Art at Penn State University.
Mark has been exhibiting his work locally, nationally, and internationally since 1977. His most recent art, a series of mixed media works utilizing elements of drawing,
painting and collage are “magic realist” narratives in which “the viewer completes the picture.” His art is heavily influenced by his travels and his knowledge of Art History and Philosophy. He is particularly interested in the Hindu concept of the Maya and therefore, “the world as illusion” has become his primary subject matter. How photography and other forms of representation influence our relationship to the “natural” world is also a recurring theme. His goal is to make “photographs look like paintings” as opposed to the other way around. Drawing on sources as diverse as Hinduism, Buddhism, Renaissance and Abstract Expressionist painting, Rene Descartes, Albert Einstein, nuclear physics, and his own Catholic upbringing, his art is an attempt to question “what is real” and what forces in society and nature shape our perception of reality.
In 2019, Mark was one of 12 artists chosen to have his work reproduced on a 12’x17’ panel as part of the “Great Wall of Honesdale” juried competition. Located at 5th and Main Street in Honesdale, the “Great Wall of Honesdale” is on view until June.
To learn more about Mark’s work, you can follow his Facebook Art Page and check out his ART!ST TALKS interview.
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