Mark Gaskin

MARK GASKIN (b. 1956, Canadian)
Mark Gaskin is a post-Modern painter who blends the effects of ancient fresco and mural art with contemporary subject matter. His fascinating technique – in which his painting surfaces are purposefully distressed – conjures the textures of prehistoric cave painting, ancient Roman painting, and Renaissance fresco painting. Gaskin deploys a number of methods and materials to achieve his surfaces, among them rolling up canvases prepared with gesso that’s dried to create craquelure. He then mixes his paints with wax to soften bright pigments – a technique known as encaustic. His subtle, appealing palette of waxen pastel colors and his contemporary subject matter then ‘fades’ into what one could call ‘faux-ancient’ painting grounds to mimic the effect of dreamscapes or misty places in the mind’s eye. The soft, cloud-like aura of his works is gentle to view, as if softened by the fog of time and indelible memory. He captivates us with today’s imagery, while alluding to the great, classic art of the past – Gaskin, thereby original in his message and method.
The work of Mark Gaskin is welcome proof, if any were needed, that painting is and remains a major form of art in the waning days of the twentieth century. - Leo Rosshandler, I.A.A.C. Curator Emeritus, Musee des Beaux Arts, Montreal, March 1997
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2018 Chloe Gallery, Winter Art and Winemakers' Dinner, San Francisco, CA
2017 Chloe Gallery, Art Market, San Francisco, CA
2017 On Being with Art, Art and Winemakers’ Dinner Exhibition, Chloe Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2016 Freedom of Artistic Thought, Art and Winemakers’ Dinner Exhibition, Chloe Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2015 Art and Winemakers’ Dinner Exhibition, Chloe Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2014 Art and Winemakers’ Dinner Exhibition, Chloe Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2001 Buschlen-Mowatt Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
2000 Art Palm Beach, Florida
1999 Art Brussels, Belgium Art Miami, Florida Art Fair, Palm Beach, Florida
1998 Art Fair, Palm Beach, Florida Buschlen-Mowatt Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
1997 Alexander Douglas Gallery, Singapore Trésors, Singapore Art Fair Seattle, Washington Roberge Gallery, Palm Desert, California
1995-97 Art Miami, Florida
1995 Waddington-Gorce Gallery, Montreal, Canada
1995 Buschlen Mowatt Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
1994 Buschlen Mowatt Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
1993 Diane Ferris Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
1993 Dr. Vigari Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
1991 Patrick Doheney Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
1990 Gallery 56, Vancouver, Canada
1990 Atropolis, Vancouver, Canada
1989 Pitt International Galleries, Vancouver, Canada
1994-96 Lineart, Ghent, Belgium
SELECTED COLLECTIONS
Heenan-Blaikie Law Firm, Montreal
Ruth O’Hara Gallery, NYC, New York
Scotia McLeod, Investment Bank, West Vancouver, Canada
Phedias Art Group, Calgary, Canada
Linmann Investments, Vancouver, Canada
Triology Development, Vancouver, Canada
Mirage Marketing, Seattle, Washington
Mercer Capital, Vancouver, Canada
Clearly Canadian Beverages, Ontario, Canada
Dundee Bancorp, Toronto, Canada
Inside Out Interiors, Washington, D.C.
QLT Photo, Marlboro, New Jersey
Starcan Corporation, Toronto, Canada
Greenline Productions, Boston, Massachusetts Northern Exposure
Talent Management Group, Ltd., Vancouver & Los Angeles, CA
Talent Management Magazine
Napatree Design, Harvard Innovation Lab, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
Corpsport, Chantilly, VA
Gestion Phila, Inc., Montreal
J.M. Telleria & Assoc., Miami Beach, FL