To view the full catalogue of artworks by this artist email us
Mark Schaller
Born 1960. Lives and works in Melbourne.
Today Schaller is regarded as one of Australia’s strongest mid career artists, with a distinctive, vigorous and expressionistic style. Poignant observation of daily life mixes with the artist’s sharp wit and is presented through exceptional handling of colour and form.
Mark Schaller studied fine arts at the Victorian College of the
Arts in his late teens after part-studying film and other visual
art courses. Today, he still studies life-drawing weekly.
He became a founding member of the renowned Roar studios in the
early 1980s. The group established its enduring reputation at its
Fitzroy gallery and since then Schaller has made his way in the
world via his own hand, through painting, sculpture and
printmaking.
Today Schaller is regarded as one of Australia's strongest mid
career artists, with a distinctive, vigorous and expressionistic
style. Poignant observation of daily life mixes with the artist's
sharp wit and is presented through exceptional handling of colour
and form.
Schaller has an abundant curiosity, and is highly inventive in his
selection of materials and work practices. A recent focus has been
large sculptural forms in wood and limited edition print work.
Polystyrene has been one of the unusual inspirations behind
Schaller's current prints - created through a process of dripping
"turps" on to the material, which naturally eats deeply into the
base. Schaller came up with this unusual process after spending
several months studying traditional printmaking methods at
Fitzroy's Port Jackson Gallery.
As Schaller describes, "When I paint, everything else becomes
irrelevant; there's no one to tell you what's right or wrong. You
can be irrational or rational, emotional or not emotional, sober or
conservative. You can be all these things, as you feel." As
we navigate through these turbulent times, Schaller provides us
with his refreshing, often irreverent, tongue-in-cheek glimpse of
ourselves, which is probably just exactly what we need.
Career highlights have included successful solo exhibitions in
Australia and abroad as well as the acquisition of his paintings
and prints by major institutions such as the National Gallery of
Australia, Canberra and National Gallery of Victoria. His works are
also included in many Regional and University Gallery collections.
Prizes winnings include the Fishers Ghost Award, Campbelltown
Gallery, winner of the inaugural Architeam architectural awards in
2005 and winner of the Mount Buller Art Prize, 2007.
