A Massachusetts native, Mark grew up in the restaurant industry as his father was a lifelong chef and owned a restaurant specializing in traditional New England cuisine.
Mark’s artistic journey began in the early 1990’s, while working as a chef, at the legendary Lagoudera on the island of Hydra, Greece. The artist Brice Marden, who was regular customer and a fan of Mark’s cooking, formed a friendship with him and invited Mark to spend time in his studio. Influenced by Marden’s use of layering to create texture, Mark draws on his gastronomic aesthetic to give his work an aura of gustatory visualization, while maintaining a hand-feel that alternates between polished fluidity and a jagged moonscape.
The imagery of Mark’s oeuvre is greatly incentivized by his travels. Having worked and lived throughout the United States, Central America, Europe, North Africa and the Caribbean, Mark’s palette gleans inspiration from those landscapes, climates, and cuisines.
Currently Mark serves as board president of the Brickbottom Artist Association and, along with his wife Daniela, a sculptor and fiber artist, lives and maintains a studio at the Brickbottom Artist Building in Somerville.