NO TRACE
Solo Exhibition, 2020
Form+Content Gallery | Minneapolis, MN
Solo Exhibition, 2020
Form+Content Gallery | Minneapolis, MN
NO TRACE | EXHIBITION STATEMENT
My work reflects environmental change and how nature is represented. The prints in NO TRACE are mostly inspired from exploring native tall-grass prairie habitats. The remaining tracts of these ecosystems are effectively islands of habitat, having escaped development and agricultural expansion surrounding them. Each image incorporates a subtractive mark making approach from a single plate-surface that serves as a reminder of the vulnerability of critical habitat and the potential for loss. The blocks used in the woodcut prints physically disappear as each layer is carved away until the surface of the block is all but gone; the spit-bite etchings utilize an initial drawing on copper that vanishes and inverts the representation of grasses into blank spaces; and the mezzotint prints involve burnishing and flattening areas of the copper’s surface to create the image. These approaches embrace the physical nature of printmaking as a vehicle for the language and mechanisms that reshape environments around us.
The land is as curated a surface as any, and its ecological losses are not always apparent within the pace of the 21st century. I hope that in making this work I can share what I have found while passing through the prairie landscape: beauty mingled with distress, a quiet spark of nature enduring within.
RESEARCH | LOCATIONS
All the images in this show are based on actual locations where I gathered notes and source material for the final works. Areas of special note are the Coteau des Prairies region in southwestern Minnesota, specifically Buffalo Ridge and Hole In The Mountain Prairie (overseen by the Nature Conservancy); prairie reclamation sites surrounding the Vermillion River and Vermillion Highlands south of the Twin Cities; prairie reclamation sites within Crow Hassan Park Reserve, part of the Three Rivers Park District.
Additional research on plant identification, area histories, and habitat locations was obtained through the University of Minnesota (Department of Soil, Water, and Climate) in addition to the Vermillion Highlands WMA collaboration between the Minnesota DNR and the University of Minnesota.
ARTIST INITIATIVE GRANT | MINNESOTA STATE ARTS BOARD
Mike Marks is a fiscal year 2019 recipient of an Artist Initiative Grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
My work reflects environmental change and how nature is represented. The prints in NO TRACE are mostly inspired from exploring native tall-grass prairie habitats. The remaining tracts of these ecosystems are effectively islands of habitat, having escaped development and agricultural expansion surrounding them. Each image incorporates a subtractive mark making approach from a single plate-surface that serves as a reminder of the vulnerability of critical habitat and the potential for loss. The blocks used in the woodcut prints physically disappear as each layer is carved away until the surface of the block is all but gone; the spit-bite etchings utilize an initial drawing on copper that vanishes and inverts the representation of grasses into blank spaces; and the mezzotint prints involve burnishing and flattening areas of the copper’s surface to create the image. These approaches embrace the physical nature of printmaking as a vehicle for the language and mechanisms that reshape environments around us.
The land is as curated a surface as any, and its ecological losses are not always apparent within the pace of the 21st century. I hope that in making this work I can share what I have found while passing through the prairie landscape: beauty mingled with distress, a quiet spark of nature enduring within.
RESEARCH | LOCATIONS
All the images in this show are based on actual locations where I gathered notes and source material for the final works. Areas of special note are the Coteau des Prairies region in southwestern Minnesota, specifically Buffalo Ridge and Hole In The Mountain Prairie (overseen by the Nature Conservancy); prairie reclamation sites surrounding the Vermillion River and Vermillion Highlands south of the Twin Cities; prairie reclamation sites within Crow Hassan Park Reserve, part of the Three Rivers Park District.
Additional research on plant identification, area histories, and habitat locations was obtained through the University of Minnesota (Department of Soil, Water, and Climate) in addition to the Vermillion Highlands WMA collaboration between the Minnesota DNR and the University of Minnesota.
ARTIST INITIATIVE GRANT | MINNESOTA STATE ARTS BOARD
Mike Marks is a fiscal year 2019 recipient of an Artist Initiative Grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.