MARK CALDERON |
| Mark
Calderon was born in Bakersfield, California in 1955.
He received his B.A. from San Jose State University, California. He resides
in Seattle.
Well-known in Seattle and on the West Coast, Mark Calderon's debut solo
show in New York
provides the viewer with a rich palette of materials in his wall-mounted
and free-standing sculpture.
Calderon selects the media thoughtfully for each piece, be it bronze, glass,
modified cement,
to enhance its impact. Glass is rarely crystal clear and shiny smooth, the
artist prefers to give it texture,
surface, yielding an archaeological ancient look to his casts. |
Mark Calderon,
GEMMA, 1999, acrylic modified cement, 8 x 5 x 5 inches each |
| Bronze
is patinaed with subtle colors, soft, earthy, quiet--almost green and brown--the
colors of nature's haiku.
Many of Calderon's wall-mounted sculptures have a round or bulbous form
with topknot.
Inspired by hairdos of ancient Japanese Buddhist sculpture, as a touchstone
for this body of work,
Calderon synthesized a shape and made it his own. Bulla, in bronze, reflects
the Japanese Buddhist topknot
most directly, other related sculptures seem like abstractions of an ancient
fertility goddess form. |
Mark
Calderon, STUPA, 1999, cast modified cement with patina, 18 x 12 x 12 inches
Mark Calderon, UVA, 1998, bronze, 14 x 13 x 2 inches
Mark Calderon, FLARE, 1998, cast bronze, 15 x 11 x 8 inches
|
Calderon's work has long been infused with inspiration from other cultures
and deeply- felt spiritual and religious references.
Earlier his work made direct reference to the cross, the heart, the torso,
"images so significant in Chicano culture," says Calderon, "are
for me a representation of individual spirituality rather than the dogma
of any particular religion."
The topknot Japanese inspired new sculptures connect to the shape of the
heart to a biomorphic sensual, iconic image.
There is a sense of fecundity in the fullness and roundness of Calderon's
sculptures.
As visual, sculptural haiku, the sculpture seems archetypal in its stolid
bold stance.
MARK CALDERON's
Biography |
Mark Calderon,
VOLUMINA, 1998,
gilded cement, 30 x 20 x 20 inches |
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