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Marks’ art is drawn from nature — literally

Staff photo by Clay Schuldt Six-year-old Aria Baune identifies the various animal parts in artist Stephen Mark’s work. Mark would later help her identify some of the more unusual materials.

NEW ULM–Friday night the 4 Pillars Gallery in the Grand Center for Arts premiered Stephen Mark’s art exhibit: “Feather Dinosaurs, Milkweed and the Everlasting.”

The art exhibit will be on display from Sept. 14 through Oct. 12 in the Grand. It is one of the more unique exhibits shown at the Grand.

The title of Mark’s exhibit is an inside joke. With new trends in art and new types of media, painting is old and going extinct like the dinosaurs.

Mark’s pieces utilize items found in nature ranging from feathers and horse hair to bee hives and deer bones. Even his paint is mixed with sand collected from the Cottonwood River.

The open house for the gallery brought out a variety of art patrons. Several students from Martin Luther College attending the opening. The student were taking notes on the exhibit for their introduction to fine arts. Mark was on hand to answer questions. The most popular answers were where did he find his art.

Mark explained much of his material was found in nature, though some of the more exotic material like horse hair is purchase through suppliers.

His artistic style and medium creates of range reaction from the excited to the frightened, but all the vistors were fascinated by the mystery in his pieces.

“Art is often a mystery,” Grand Executive Director Anne Makepeace said. She believed a little mystery is good in art.

His fans include Pat Dummer who was taken with the three-dimensional aspects of his work.

Mark’s biggest fan of the evening was six-year-old Aria Baune. Baune was delighted with all the hidden items in the pieces. She moved from one painting to the next and pointed out all the items she could recognize. Baune is a fan of sea shells and feathers, which made this the perfect exhibit for her to tour.

Marks received his MFA in Drawing and Painting from Illinois University. Today he resides in Springfield where he continues to create unique pieces.

The grand opening of Mark’s exhibit is 7 p.m. Friday. The exhibit will be open to the public through Oct. 12. The gallery is open Tuesday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.

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