Mark Grotjahn
Encyclopedia
Mark Grotjahn is an American
painter best known for abstract work and bold geometric paintings. Grotjahn lives and works in Los Angeles
.
, and his BFA from the University of Colorado at Boulder
. When he moved to Los Angeles, he opened a gallery with his friend Brent Peterson and started showing and working with other artists.
Later Grotjahn began working with colored pencils to develop "perspective drawings" and then perspectival paintings. In his multi-colored drawings, Grotjahn's working method is systematic and rigorous but also allows for intuition and chance. He first begins by mapping out the triangular radii in black pencil. For each work in this series of drawings, Grotjahn then sets aside the required number of colour pencils, choosing colours that ‘hold together' in value and intensity. Having laid them next to him, he chooses one pencil at random and uses it to colour in a single, pre-segmented wing section.
Since 1997 Grothjahn has been exploring the radiant motif in his paintings and drawings. This sustained investigation is illustrated in his Butterfly series Here, he draws on Renaissance perspectival techniques for the structures and subjects of his multiple-vanishing-point butterfly patterns in order to create the illusion that his geometries stretch, shrink, approach, and recede. The Butterfly Paintings essentially consist of a radiating sequence of parallel lines are executed in thick oil in such a way that an illusion of perspective is generated by the painting's butterfly form. The horizontal and vertical lines are rarely, if ever, horizontal or perpendicular to the edges of the canvas.
A later series of large, vertical Face Paintings is based on the simple geometric structure of eyes, nose, and mouth. Using sheets of cardboard that are primed and mounted on linen as the ground, Grotjahn employs brush and palette knife to extensively build layer upon layer of oil paint to almost sculptural ends.
in New York (2006). His work has been exhibited in group exhibitions at galleries and museums such as the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago
, P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center in New York, Museum am Ostwall
, Dortmund
, and Neuer Aachener Kunstverein, in Germany, and The Royal Academy in London. His work is featured in several prominent collections including the Carnegie Museum of Art
in Pittsburgh, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
, The Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Saatchi Gallery
in London. He was included in the 54th Carnegie International
in 2004 and the Whitney Biennial
in 2006.
, Wade Guyton
, Eileen Quinlan, Sergei Jensen, and Cheyney Thompson.
New York.
Grotjahn is represented by Anton Kern Gallery in New York, Gagosian Gallery
in London, Blum and Poe Gallery in Los Angeles, and Shane Campbell Gallery in Chicago
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
painter best known for abstract work and bold geometric paintings. Grotjahn lives and works in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
Early life and education
Grotjahn was born in Pasadena, but grew up in the Bay Area. He received his MFA from the University of California, BerkeleyUniversity of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
, and his BFA from the University of Colorado at Boulder
University of Colorado at Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...
. When he moved to Los Angeles, he opened a gallery with his friend Brent Peterson and started showing and working with other artists.
Work
In the mid 1990s, Grotjahn began working on a stream of densely worked colored pencil drawings, followed by oil paintings, which focused on perspective investigations such as dual and multiple vanishing points. The way Grotjahn paints grew out of conceptual sign making; he would faithfully reproduce peculiar graphics and phrases from local storefronts in his native Los Angeles. He would then trade these handmade copies to the storeowners in exchange for the original signage.Later Grotjahn began working with colored pencils to develop "perspective drawings" and then perspectival paintings. In his multi-colored drawings, Grotjahn's working method is systematic and rigorous but also allows for intuition and chance. He first begins by mapping out the triangular radii in black pencil. For each work in this series of drawings, Grotjahn then sets aside the required number of colour pencils, choosing colours that ‘hold together' in value and intensity. Having laid them next to him, he chooses one pencil at random and uses it to colour in a single, pre-segmented wing section.
Since 1997 Grothjahn has been exploring the radiant motif in his paintings and drawings. This sustained investigation is illustrated in his Butterfly series Here, he draws on Renaissance perspectival techniques for the structures and subjects of his multiple-vanishing-point butterfly patterns in order to create the illusion that his geometries stretch, shrink, approach, and recede. The Butterfly Paintings essentially consist of a radiating sequence of parallel lines are executed in thick oil in such a way that an illusion of perspective is generated by the painting's butterfly form. The horizontal and vertical lines are rarely, if ever, horizontal or perpendicular to the edges of the canvas.
A later series of large, vertical Face Paintings is based on the simple geometric structure of eyes, nose, and mouth. Using sheets of cardboard that are primed and mounted on linen as the ground, Grotjahn employs brush and palette knife to extensively build layer upon layer of oil paint to almost sculptural ends.
Exhibitions
Grotjahn's solo exhibitions include shows at UCLA Hammer Museum in Los Angeles (2005) and the Whitney Museum of American ArtWhitney Museum of American Art
The Whitney Museum of American Art, often referred to simply as "the Whitney", is an art museum with a focus on 20th- and 21st-century American art. Located at 945 Madison Avenue at 75th Street in New York City, the Whitney's permanent collection contains more than 18,000 works in a wide variety of...
in New York (2006). His work has been exhibited in group exhibitions at galleries and museums such as the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago
Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago
The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago is a contemporary art museum near Water Tower Place in downtown Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The museum, which was established in 1967, is one of the world's largest contemporary art venues...
, P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center in New York, Museum am Ostwall
Museum am Ostwall
The Museum Ostwall is a museum of modern and contemporary art in Dortmund, Germany. It was founded in the late 1940s, and has been located in the Dortmund U-Tower since 2010...
, Dortmund
Dortmund
Dortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union....
, and Neuer Aachener Kunstverein, in Germany, and The Royal Academy in London. His work is featured in several prominent collections including the Carnegie Museum of Art
Carnegie Museum of Art
The Carnegie Museum of Art, located in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is an art museum founded in 1895 by the Pittsburgh-based industrialist Andrew Carnegie...
in Pittsburgh, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles is a contemporary art museum with three locations in greater Los Angeles, California. The main branch is located on Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles, near Walt Disney Concert Hall...
, The Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Saatchi Gallery
Saatchi Gallery
The Saatchi Gallery is a London gallery for contemporary art, opened by Charles Saatchi in 1985 in order to exhibit his collection to the public. It has occupied different premises, first in North London, then the South Bank by the River Thames and currently in Chelsea. Saatchi's collection, and...
in London. He was included in the 54th Carnegie International
Carnegie International
The Carnegie International is the oldest North American exhibition of contemporary art from around the globe. It was first organized at the behest of industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie on November 5, 1896 in Pittsburgh. Carnegie established the International to educate and inspire the...
in 2004 and the Whitney Biennial
Whitney Biennial
The Whitney Biennial is a biennale exhibition of contemporary American art, typically by young and lesser known artists, on display at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City, USA. The event began as an annual exhibition in 1932, the first biennial was in 1973...
in 2006.
Influences
Mark Grotjahn is often regared as one of many contemporary painter revisiting late Modernism, alongside fellow painters Tomma AbtsTomma Abts
Tomma Abts is a German-born abstract painter who won the Turner Prize in 2006.-Early life:Abts was born in Kiel in Germany and currently lives and works in London, England.-Work:...
, Wade Guyton
Wade Guyton
Wade Guyton is an American artist. Art critic Holland Cotter, writing in The New York Times said that Guyton, "takes modernism, with its touchy-feely spiritual pretensions, for a hard ride...
, Eileen Quinlan, Sergei Jensen, and Cheyney Thompson.
Position on the art market
In 2010, Grotjahn's oil on linen painting Untitled (Lavender Butterfly Jacaranda over Green) (2004) was sold for $1,5 million against its presale estimate of $500–700,000 at Christie'sChristie's
Christie's is an art business and a fine arts auction house.- History :The official company literature states that founder James Christie conducted the first sale in London, England, on 5 December 1766, and the earliest auction catalogue the company retains is from December 1766...
New York.
Grotjahn is represented by Anton Kern Gallery in New York, Gagosian Gallery
Gagosian Gallery
Gagosian Gallery is a contemporary art gallery owned and directed by Larry Gagosian. There are currently eleven gallery spaces: three in New York; two in London; one in each of Beverly Hills, Rome, Athens, Paris, Geneva, Hong Kong and Moscow.-1980s:...
in London, Blum and Poe Gallery in Los Angeles, and Shane Campbell Gallery in Chicago