MARK WHALEN

The figures within Whalen’s work are universal, exaggerated, and formally contorted to the point of appearing genderless and ethnically in limbo. Typically rendered in bright colours and made from glass, bronze, onyx stone, or aluminium, these materials share the conceptual parameters of the work, adding weight, contrast and contradictions. These fictional protagonists act as a vehicle to explore relatable everyday situations and in doing so represent the vastness of human emotion. More often than not, Whalen’s figures are coupled with everyday forms—light globes, food, telephones, pillows, cups—that are stacked like totems or built up around the figure, while flexible hands cup these forms closely. Crafting a narrative of curiosity, inviting an open-ended conversation with the viewer.

Whalen lives and works in Los Angeles; his works have been exhibited in Australia, Asia and North America with recent exhibitions at Harper’s Gallery, New York City, US (2025) Galerie Saenger, Mexico City, MX (2023) and Centro de Arte Contemporáneo, Málaga, ES (2021). Whalen is in the collections of the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra and National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne.

Courtesy 1301SW