Portfolio of Works
Mark Harmon's current body of work is inspired by the very texture of the Smokey Mountains, their weathered rock faces covered by lichens and mosses. These works speak of the frailty and resilience of life in the form of beautiful abstract compositions that capture the nature of things often ignored. Lichens, symbiotic organisms part fungus part algae, were the first to colonize dry land some 700 million years ago, beginning the slow process of creating soils; true pioneers, fascinating and beautiful; a fitting subject for Mark’s series of contemplative works.
For those that know me as a painter this may be a bit surprising, but pottery is a personal passion and in this time of being bound to the home and garden I feel moved to make practical things; bowls for harvesting and dishes meant specifically for the more elaborate recipes we have the time to prepare now. Ceramics for contemplation like stoneware lanterns for the garden and teapots and candleholders bring us and hopefully y'all a moment of quiet.
Insparada en Catalunya y en gran parte pintada al aire libre en las calles de Tarragona o sus playas. Ispired by Catalunya and in great part painted en plein air in the gorgeous streets of Tarragona or it's beaches.
Hand Crafted Wood tools for Pottery. Available in my Asheville Studio in the Riverview Station upstairs from the Village Potters #232 or you can have it shipped within the US for an additional $6.
in distilling the essence of a city into a compelling abstraction the contradictions of continuous human activity are laid bare.
What is our relationship with the place we live in, our impact on the land and it´s effect on us? In the urban environment lived responses become concrete, brick steel and stone, answering our practical needs and expressing seemingly boundless ambitions. Just as built elements transform the topography, Buildings are then transformed by continual use. Inhabited, remodeled or abandoned a city is a built reminder of people present and long gone. A witness to successive triumphs and failures. In the words of Joan Ganyet a wall is the skin of a city. On them we see graffitied or scriblled our aspirations and frustrations that give a firsthand account of our lives. Daily actions conscious and unconscious wear down stairs and polish metal to join wind and weather as agents of entropy. The city itself becomes a monument to a relationship of mutual causation between our environment and our way of life. That relationship is the subject of my latest body of work.
Watercolors are my favorite medium for capturing the excitement of travel. Like the stunning land and and cityscapes we've enjoyed in Spain, they tend towards colorful and dynamic effects perfect for quick plein air sketches. I'm particularly pleased with the efficient portable setup that accompanies me on virtually all outings. Some pieces in this collection are more involved studio paintings.
spanish uses the same word for time and weather.. tiempo.. a perfect word for what I hope to capture. painted in plein air to chase the shifting shadows and brilliant light over weathered surfaces of lived in history.
