Kelly Mark

Kelly Mark has always had an intense preoccupation with the differing shades of pathos and humour found in everyday life. Hidden in the repetitive mundane tasks, routines and rituals of contemporary culture, she finds startling moments of poetic individuation. This “imprint of the individual,” although subtle and frequently paradoxical, is something she repeatedly returns to. Through her ‘will to order’ and her (self-described) frequently inane sense of humour, her objective is the investigation, documentation and validation of these singular ‘marked’ and ‘unmarked’ moments of our lives. Toronto-based Kelly Mark received her BFA in 1994 at the Nova Scotia College of Art & Design. She has exhibited widely across Canada, and internationally at venues including the Art Gallery of Ontario (Toronto), The Power Plant (Toronto), Contemporary Art Gallery (Vancouver), Muse d'Art Contemporain (Montreal), Henry Art Gallery (Seattle), Bass Museum (Miami), Ikon Gallery (UK), Lisson Gallery (UK), and the Physics Room (NZ). Mark represented Canada at the Liverpool Biennale in 2006 and the Sydney Biennale in 1998. She is a recipient of numerous Canada Council, Ontario Arts Council and Toronto Arts Council grants, as well as the KM Hunter Artist Award (2002), and Chalmers Art Fellowship (2002).