Marc Raphael

Marc creates jazz-like improvisations on canvas. His abstract expressionist paintings vibrate with color, line, and movement, and his signature swirls, splatters, and drips advance and recede in what feels like a game of hide and seek. Marc begins by adding color to raw unstretched canvas he lays on the floor, and by consciously attending to formal elements and allowing intuition to freely assert itself, he adds layer upon layer until the painting's final visual aesthetic, dynamism, and harmony appears.

Born, raised, and currently living in Los Angeles, Marc is a self-taught abstract expressionist painter who painted his first abstract works in 1991. A 25-year career as a K-12 classroom teacher, working in Watts, South Central, and the San Fernando Valley, left Marc limited opportunities to pursue his passion for art. Then, in January 2020, he transitioned to painting full time.

For 18 months, Marc practiced his art in a garage studio where he further developed his action painting technique and deepened his understanding of the properties and behaviors of acrylic and latex paints. His art education and growth as a painter grew from museum and gallery visits, watching demonstrations by other artists on YouTube and Instagram, re...

B.A. French, Wesleyan University, 1987
M.S. Ed., University of Southern California, 1997

August 2023, Los Angeles Art Association, Benefit Auction, Los Angeles, CA

June 2023, Hermosa Beach Fine Arts Festival, Hermosa Beach, CA

May 2023, ART2art, "Beyond Boundaries," curated by Marc Raphael, Los Angeles, CA

November 2021, ArtUniteLA, Tropico de Nopal Art Gallery, Echo Park, CA

October 2022, Manhattan Beach Hometown Fair, Manhattan Beach, CA

June 2022, Artspace Warehouse, Los Angeles, CA

May 2022, Hermosa Beach Fine Arts Festival, Hermosa Beach, CA

March 2022, Art Show International Gallery, 5th Abstract Competition, Talent Prize ($25) for "Baseball Cards and Bubble Gum"

March 2022 (ongoing), Art2art District Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

February 2022, Art Transforming Spaces, Lark Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

January 2022, Centered on Center, Huntington Beach Art Center, Huntington Beach, CA

December, 2021, LIVE Holiday Group Show, Art 2 art district Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

December, 2021, Contemporary Art Gallery online "All Color"; Third Place for "Coral Reef"

December, 2021, Grey Cube Gallery Painting and Photography online art show, Merit Award for "Coral Reef" and "Lakers Lore"

December 2021, Abstractions, Mona Niko Gallery, Mission Viejo, CA

November 2021, ArtUniteLA, Tropico de Nopal Art Gallery, Echo Par...