Exodus Painting

Mark Barone is an internationally acclaimed painter with his artwork represented in distinguished museums and private collections around the world. His work has been featured in hundreds of publications, and in 2018, PBS created a poignant documentary about his stirring and evocative, philanthropic art. Barone was born in 1959 in Chicago. In 1983, Mark attended the University of Minnesota, where he received his B.F.A. He met and became greatly influenced by his professors, who were from the New York School of Abstract Expressionism. They helped him to realize the importance of approaching painting in a holistic way and to always paint what he felt most connected to. Next, he would spend valuable time learning from acclaimed Bay Area figurative painter, Paul Wonner. Then, after taking some time off and traveling to get inspired by the many great works of art in Europe, he went to the University of Southern Illinois to get his M.F.A. It was there that he had the opportunity to immerse himself in painting and discovered the direction for his work. ​After graduating, Barone's first solo show was in the Lyons Weir Gallery in Chicago. He moved to Paducah, Kentucky, and continued to thrive, with his work showing in D.C. and Chicago. While there, he received great recognition for creating the first successful and highly awarded Artist Relocation Program, designed to support artists and revitalize blighted neighborhoods using the arts; now the go-to model used by cities to promote art as an economic engine. ​​​In 2011, when Mark became aware of the number of animals killed in shelters, he decided to paint 5500 shelter dogs to depict the number destroyed, every day. With his wife, he went on to create the non-profit, An Act of Dog. A charity dedicated to using art to be a voice for discarded shelter animals and Veterans. PBS made a documentary about his journey for their salvation. ​Today, Mark lives in Naples, Florida with his wife, Marina, two dogs, Gigi and Yogi, and his cats, Santo and Twitch! His current work is centered around some of the most pressing spiritual issues of our time.