Marc Blake

Milford Galleries Dunedin18 Dowling Street (03) 477 7727 info@milfordhouse.co.nz

www.milfordgalleries.co.nz

Relativity21 July - 15 August 2012

1. Form and Emptiness (2012)

acrylic, graphite, colour pencil, UVLS varnish on board, panel: 1070 x 1016 x 50 mm

2. Relativity (2012)

acrylic, graphite, colour pencil, pigment ink, UVLS varnish on board, panel: 800 x 956 x 50 mm

3. South (2012), acrylic, colour pencil, UVLS varnish on board, panel: 798 x 950 x 50 mm

4. Just Us (2012)acrylic, graphite, colour pencil, UVLS varnish on board, panel: 800 x 954 x 50 mm

5. Modern Love (2012) triptych; acrylic, graphite, colour pencil, UVLS varnish on board, panels

triptych; acrylic, graphite, colour pencil, UVLS varnish on board, panels: 1680 x 1015 x 50 mm each, overall: 1680 x 3075 x 50 mm

6. At the Exact Same Moment (2012)

acrylic, graphite, colour pencil, pigment ink, 24 k gold, UVLS varnish on board, panel: 1070 x 1015 x 50 mm

7. Space (2012), acrylic, colour pencil, UVLS varnish on board, panel: 452 x 362 x 50 mm

In Relativity Marc Blake presents us with a suite of works that examines the place

of the individual within society. In a world that displays ever more connectivity

but, paradoxically, ever more disconnection, Blake examines ideas of isolation

within a multitude, the transitory nature of the moment, and the uncertainty of

the future.

The idea of ongoing process is evidenced in the techniques Blake uses, as well as

in his subject matter. Through the manipulation of found images that have been

deconstructed and recomposed, the works retain a sense of layered histories. His

transferral of images imprints them into the surface of the plywood and they

become part of the surface rather than sitting upon it. Likewise Blake’s use of the

natural woodgrain turns the medium into the subject matter. In At the Exact

Same Moment ply ripples form on the lake, morphing into ridges of earth as the

tones of Blake’s palette shift from violet to brown.

Whereas previous paintings have contained a number of seemingly

disconnected tableaux, in Relativity Blake has pulled his focus tight, illustrating a

single instant. His lone subjects, faces often turned away, invite solipsistic

reflection on our own place in the world. Do we take our place in the world

irrespective of others around us, or are we constructed by their mirrored

glances?

Blake’s depictions of singular moments do not exist in a vacuum, each is relative

to that which has gone before and that which will follow after. Form and

Emptiness reveals this layered time: the frozen second, the two-score-and-ten of

man, the long centuries of the ‘old man pine.’ (1) It is no coincidence that Blake

has chosen this Asian symbol of longevity to tower above the monk practising his

martial art. It serves as a form of memento mori, as do the cherry blossoms

in Relativity, their fleeting presence a reminder that ‘this too shall pass.’

1. Marc Blake, Artist’s Statement, 2012

All prices are NZD and include GST; Prices are current at the time of the exhibition

E X H I B I T I O N P R I C E L I S T

1 Form and Emptiness (2012) 5,000

2 Relativity (2012) 4,000

3 South (2012) 4,000

4 Just Us (2012) 4,000

5 Modern Love (2012) 12,500

6 At the Exact Same Moment (2012) 5,000

7 Space (2012) 1,500

Marc Blake 2012 CV Milford Galleries Dunedin www.milfordgalleries.co.nz

P a g e | 1

MARC BLAKE b. 1974, lives Auckland

Future Fund (2011)

“I seek to create paintings that contemplate notions of time, space, experience and the

interconnectivity of things.”(1)

A raft of (seemingly) disconnected dream-like images inhabits the works of Marc Blake. Realist

images of children, schoolgirls and old men are belied by apparent contradictions of time

and place. Using flattened, unreal perspectives, and accompanied by stylised trees and

imagined landscapes, Blake’s figures are trapped in singular instances of time.

In a world that displays ever more connectivity but, paradoxically, ever more disconnection,

Blake examines ideas of isolation within a multitude, the transitory nature of the moment, and

the uncertainty of the future.

Marc Blake was born in Auckland where he lived and studied gaining a Bachelor of Arts in

English Literature from the University of Auckland. After time spent in Japan and Sydney, Blake

returned to New Zealand in 2011 and is currently based in Auckland. A regular exhibitor since

2002, he has participated in solo and group exhibitions at private galleries and public

institutions including the Kyoto Cultural Museum, BankART Yokohama, and the Auckland Art

Gallery.

A three-time finalist in the Wallace Trust Award, in 2011 Blake’s entry, Future Fund, was selected

to be part of the Wallace Trust exhibition that travelled to the Dowse Art Museum in

Wellington. Blake’s works are held in the Wallace Trust Collection as well as in private

collections throughout New Zealand and abroad. 1. Marc Blake, Artist’s Statement, 2012

Marc Blake 2012 CV Milford Galleries Dunedin www.milfordgalleries.co.nz

P a g e | 2

MARC BLAKE b. 1974, lives Auckland

EDUCATION

Bachelor of Arts (English Literature), University of Auckland

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2012 Relativity, Milford Galleries Dunedin

Analogue, Michael Reid Gallery, Sydney, Australia

2011 Status Update, Milford Galleries Dunedin

2008 Nothing Like This, Backspace, Christchurch

2007 Condensed History, Aveia Gallery, Auckland

Where It All Begins, Backspace Gallery, Christchurch

2006 Watergarden, Arts Council Koganecho, Yokohama, Japan

2000 New Paintings, EON, Auckland

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2012 The Surreal, Milford Galleries Dunedin

2011 Wallace Art Awards, Auckland

2010 Introducing Marc Blake and Tim Thatcher, Milford Galleries Dunedin

Wallace Art Awards, Auckland

Anna Pappas Gallery, Melbourne

2008 Wallace Art Awards, Auckland

New Zealand Painting & Printmaking Award, Auckland

Anthony Harper Award for Contemporary Art, Christchurch

New Zealand Fashion Week, Auckland

2007 Off The Wall Project, Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland

Light and Dark, Satellite Gallery, Auckland

Backspace, Wellington, New Zealand

2006 In the Midst (with Jos Wheeler) (independent), Auckland

2005 3rd Annual Amuse Artjam, Kyoto Cultural Museum, Kyoto, Japan

FIVE (with Ko Masuda), BankART Studio NYK, Yokohama, Japan

AWARDS

2011 Finalist, Annual Wallace Art Awards

2010 Finalist, Annual Wallace Art Awards

2008 Finalist, New Zealand Painting & Printmaking Award

Finalist, Anthony Harper Award for Contemporary Art

Finalist, Annual Wallace Art Awards

2005 Two month studio residency & exhibition, BankART NYK, Yokohama, Japan

Finalist, 3Rd Annual Amuse Inc. Artjam, Kyoto Cultural Museum, Kyoto, Japan

COLLECTIONS

The James Wallace Trust

Relativity (2012)