Hard to believe it’s been a year to date since I was exhibiting in Vienna. What a great time - what a great city! Tons of gratitude for all those who made this happen.
@sparkartfair@marqueeprojects
One of the corners in “Repercussions” - my solo exhibition now up and running through April 4 @gallerynorthli .
Join me and curator, Kate Schwarting, for a Gallery talk this Saturday March 14 from 3-5pm.
Discover the elemental sculptures of Mark Van Wagner @mark.van , whose work fuses sand, pigment, and found materials into meditative monuments of erosion, play, and transformation.
Featured by DiFranco on Munchies Art Club
From beaches to biennials—Mark Van Wagner turns dust into monument.
His work doesn’t just use sand, it becomes sand.
Every sculpture feels like a fossil from the future—bright, bruised, and brutally honest. Recently on view at Spark Art Fair Vienna with MARQUEE PROJECTS @marqueeprojects , @sparkartfair , Van Wagner stacks, crushes, and stains cardboard until it hums with history.
It’s art that remembers being a tree, a box, a ruin.
Catch the full interview with DiFranco on Munchies Art Club now.
Portraits credits: @ceg619
Read the full interview with Mark Van Wagner and Difranco on Munchies Art Club—link in bio.
Many thanks to the jurors (listed below) that selected this sculpture to be included in this year’s Long Island Biennial, now in its ninth iteration. Hosted by the Heckscher Museum of Art in Huntington, NY.
Axis Proba, 2025
Natural and pigmented sand and debris on recycled cardboard boxes
36x24x6 inches
“Just Powers” opens tomorrow night, Friday, May 15. Heckscher Museum of Art.
The Biennial deepens connections between artists across Nassau and Suffolk counties and their communities. The exhibition uses the Declaration of Independence (1776) and George Grosz’s masterpiece of political art, Eclipse of the Sun (1926), as touchstones for thinking about power, national ideals, and public life. The Declaration of Independence set forth aspirational principles of liberty and equality, although its promises remain incomplete. A century and a half later, George Grosz’s searing painting exposed the corruption he saw at the heart of modern society. From an open call that attracted nearly six hundred submissions, the guest jurors selected 73 works by 69 artists that respond to these cultural and political legacies. “Just Powers”brings together the work of Long Island artists with diverse perspectives to reveal how democratic ideals are interpreted, challenged, and reimagined today.
“Just Powers” was juried by Tripoli Patterson, founder and owner, Tripoli Gallery; photographer Andreas Rentsch, Associate Professor of Photography and Chair of the Art Department, Lycoming College; and Dr. Lauren Rosati, Associate Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. It was curated by Dr. Meredith A. Brown, Consulting Curator of Contemporary Art, The Heckscher Museum of Art.
@tripolipatterson@rentsch.andreas@redbrown_art@heckschermuseum
My wall sculpture, “Adrift” is currently on view along with an incredible group of artists at the Bridgehampton Museum titled Materials Speak. The show runs through May 23.
Wednesdays - Saturdays, 11am to 3pm
From the curators:
Given the diversity of artists, audiences, materials, landscape, and the rich culture to be found on the East End, we happily present Materials Speak at the Bridgehampton Museum. The exhibition consists of artwork being created in or having association with the East End of Long Island. Materials Speak includes a broad spectrum of artists, many of whom are locally familiar and well-known as well as others who have quieter studio practices. The thread that runs through the exhibition is a demonstration of the way the artists use materials. In other words, how they follow the sociologist Marshall McLuhan ‘s adage, “The Medium is the Message.”
There are twenty-seven artists included in this exhibition, working with traditional and non-traditional materials. Their different treatment of materials enables us to view the finished work through their own lens and experience the vastness of what their imaginations hold.
Participating artists
Sydney Albertini
Suzanne Anker
Philippe Cheng
David Kennedy Cutler
Eric Dever
Hiroyuki Hamada
Mary Heilmann
Brianna Hernandez
Candace Hill-Montgomery
Barry Holden
Dennis Hollingsworth
Mel Kendrick
Debbie Ma
Russell Maltz
Chuck Manion
Curtis Mitchell
Victoria Munro
Joel Perlman
David Row
Brie Ruais
Bonnie Rychlak
Bastienne Schmidt
Julian Schnabel
Drew Shiflett
Jeanne Silverthorne
John Torreano
Mark Van Wagner
Claire Watson
Nina Yankowitz
Almond Zigmund
Material Speaks is curated by Barbara MacAdam and Mary Dinaburg.
@thebridgehamptonmuseum@marydinaburg@barbaramacadam999
#bridgehamptonmuseum
Many thanks to curator Emily Weiskopf @emilyweiskopfstudio for including my sculpture in a wonderful group exhibition at the Ely Center for Contemporary Art in New Haven @ecoca_nhv Also, a big thanks to all who came to the opening including @e.riggle and @sshutan 🙏🏼✨✨
Chaos with a side of Spaghetti continues through May 24.
Ely Center for Contemporary Art
162 James St, New Haven CT.
Gallery Hours: Wed, Thur, Sun 12-5
Opening this Sunday, my sculpture “Bane Terrain” is included in an exhibition with a wonderful group of artist titled “Chaos with a side of Spaghetti” curated by Emily Weiskopf.
Opening: April 26, 1-4pm
Ely Center for Contemporary Art
162 James St, New Haven CT.
If you’re in the area, I’ll be at the opening and look forward to seeing you.
@emilyweiskopfstudio@elycenterofcontemporaryart@marqueeprojects
Rock Formation, size - variable, various sand from around the world, and debris on boxes.
Happy Earth Day.
#earthworks #artepovera #monoha #sculpturelovers
TOMORROW the Bridgehampton Museum’s “Materials Speak” exhibit opens and we were delighted to have one of the show’s artists, Mark Van Wagner, join us in @wliwfm studio for a discussion about using cardboard and sand from all over the world ahead of 5 p.m. opening on April 18 at Nathanial Rogers House in Bridgehampton! You can find this—and all in-person interviews—archived on the WLIW-FM YT channel ♥️
Opening Saturday, April 18 at 5pm - join us for Materials Speak!
Given the diversity of artists, audiences, materials, landscape, and the rich culture to be found on the East End, we happily present Materials Speak at the Bridgehampton Museum The exhibition consists of artwork being created in or having association with the East End of Long Island. Materials Speak includes a broad spectrum of artists, many of whom are locally familiar and well-known as well as others who have quieter studio practices. The thread that runs through the exhibition is a demonstration of the way the artists use materials. In other words, how they follow the sociologist Marshall McLuhan ‘s adage, “The Medium is the Message.”
Amid the diversity of artworks on view here are pieces ranging from a Julian Schnabel map painting to a vivid abstract print by Mary Heilmann. Nina Yankowtiz wows us with fabric work, while Claire Watson executes minimum aesthetics with leather. Russel Maltz transcends the boundary of painting and sculpture with a painted wood piece. Curtis Mitchell shows us that art can be made with a reconstructed plush toy while Bonnie Rychlak creates both a painting and object built of encaustic as well as other materials.
Further adding to the depth of the artist roster, Barry Holden shows us how a chandelier of books would be embraced in a library through manipulated photography, and John Torreano emblazons our vision with gems embedded in wood. Drew Shiflet weaves her paintings, and Jeanne Silverthorne creates a world out of rubber and phosphorescent pigment.
There are twenty-seven artists included in this exhibition, working with traditional and non-traditional materials. Their different treatment of materials enables us to view the finished work through their own lens and experience the vastness of what their imaginations hold.
We invite you to join us and experience the entirety of the exhibition and the diversity of practice and imagination of a remarkable group of local artists. Material Speaks is curated by Barbara MacAdam and Mary Dinaburg.
