Mark Engel

Mark Engel is a figurative painter whose practice investigates the body as a site of transformation, perception, and psychological depth. Drawing on themes of connection, involution, and the fluid nature of selfhood, Engel constructs layered compositions that merge the figure with elements of landscape, gesture, and abstraction. His paintings explore the tension between form and dissolution, using fragmentation and distortion to reflect transitional states and the porous boundaries between interior and exterior experience.

Engel’s approach is rooted in process and intuition. Each composition unfolds through cycles of addition and subtraction, allowing unconscious associations and emotional resonance to emerge. By balancing structure with flux, his work invites reflection on the instability of identity in a world shaped by constant change and relational complexity.

He has exhibited widely in solo and group exhibitions, including Shapeshifters at Know Future Gallery, Constellations at Vargas Gallery, and group shows at Baton Rouge Gallery Center for Contemporary Art, Limner Gallery in New York, and 33 Contemporary Gallery in Chicago. His work has been featured in Create! Magazine, Artsin Square, and Artianne Magazine.

Engel is a p...

MFA Pictorial Art San Jose State University
BFA Pictorial Art San Jose State University

Vargas Gallery, Constellations, solo show, March 14th - April 16th 2024

Artsin Square, Embrace Of Madness, group show, Jan. 8th - Feb. 8th 2024

Vargas Gallery, Art Faculty Exhibition, Sept.-Oct. 2023

Art Fluent, Inner Sense, online exhibition

Limner Gallery, A Show of Heads, New York, Oct. 12 - Nov. 4th 2023

Dodomu Gallery, Lines and Other Forms Exhibition, June-July 2023

Create Magazine, Alchemy Exhibition, April 2023

Artsin Square, Edition 4, Fall 2023

Create Magazine issue #39, Fall 2023

33 Contemporary Gallery, Liberating the Flesh, July 15th - Sept.2022

PAL It’s only Human: Figurative Exhibition, June 2022

Art Room Gallery Portrait, April 2022

Hilliard Gallery The Figure in Contemporary Art, April 2022

RIWS Gallery Celebrating Color, Jan.-Feb. 2022