Mark Jenkins (b. 1970) is a sculptor and installation artist whose work focuses on a variety of urban and social themes, re-defining the limits of sculpture both in the public sphere, where many of his pieces have been found, to the more intimate realm of the contemporary gallery setting. The foundation of his artwork is in the artist’s specific technique, casting objects as well as his own body (and those of others) using conventional packing tape and plastic wrap. Encompassing the actual form of these subjects with his method, he has materialized a range of characters, from translucent ducks, dogs and babies, to his most well-known clothed hyper-realistic figures.
Whether placed in the street or in the gallery, his sculptures alter perceptions of the ordinary and create surreal settings that infallibly elicit an alternative experience. The placement of his artwork always creates a new form of discourse central to space and audience. For the pieces he situates in the urban environment, the artist intentionally leaves the sculptures unattended to fulfill their life cycles to whatever end, may it be natural deterioration or confiscation. The viewer’s reaction to his pieces becomes part of the sculptures, turning the street into a stage. The theatricality of Mark Jenkins’s work remains a central theme, wherein he uses the gallery space as a performance platform, incorporating the viewers not only as spectators but as actors themselves.
For the past few years, Jenkins has brought his pieces around the world for a variety of projects and public art events. In 2017, he collaborated with fashion house Balenciaga, displaying his sculptures as part of the opening of a newly designed New York boutique. In 2018, the artist presented a powerful art installation entitled “Project84” where he placed 84 of his figures on top of the ITV buildings at Southbank in London. The installation aimed to bring awareness to the prevalence of male suicide in the United Kingdom. In 2019, he participated in the Rose Béton biennale/art festival held in Toulouse France, where he installed a number of sculptures in the public space, including upon a fountain and hanging on a swing from the Pont Saint Pierre bridge. Most recently, Jenkins placed five of his hooded figures in front of the Laguna Beach City Hall in California. Referred to as “The Caretakers”, the pieces were commissioned by the city, each sculpture occupied with an absurd activity, such as one who appears to be vacuuming the lawn.
Mark Jenkins crosses boundaries with his life-size figures, re-defining the limits of what “immersion” can be. With pieces that elicit strong reactions from any audience, the artist chooses to have the pieces speak for themselves. Whether he’s placed them in a public space or in the gallery, the sculptures represent an exploration into human connection – a mirror held up to our understanding of the world. He currently lives and works outside Washington D.C.
“BRD SHT” Magda Danysz Gallery | Paris, France – SOLO
“Time is Now” Fabien Castanier Gallery | Miami, FL
“BRD SHT” Lazinc | London, UK – SOLO
“Rubber Time” Fabien Castanier Gallery | Miami, FL
“Knock Knock” Ruttkowski;68 Gallery | Cologne, Germany
“Mark Jenkins: Remix” Arsenal Contemporary Art | Montreal, QC – SOLO
“Still Here, Decade of Lazarides” Lazarides Gallery | London, UK
“Vitality and Verve in the Third Dimension” Long Beach Museum of Art | Long Beach, CA
“Threatening Sculpture” Lazarides Rathbone Place, London – SOLO
“Still Life” Fabien Castanier Gallery | Los Angeles, CA
“Moment of Impact” Lazarides Rathbone Place | London, UK
“Pixel Show” | Sao Paulo
“Les Vraisemblables” Nui Blanche, Paris | LA
“Shangri-La Hell” Glastonbury Festival | Glastonbury
“Horrible, Terrible” Ruttkowski 68 | Cologne, Germany
“IN SITU” Fabien Castanier Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
“SCOPE NY” Fabien Castanier Gallery, New York, NY
“Art Wynwood” Fabien Castanier Gallery, Miami, FL
“50 Years of Hell” Positive Propaganda Artspace, Munchen, Bavaria
“Bugspray” Dr. Bastard Productions, Richmond, VA
“CONTEXT Art Miami” Fabien Castanier Gallery, Miami, FL
“Furries” Now Contemporary Art/VOLTA, NYC – SOLO
“The Studio” Patricia Dorfmann, Paris – SOLO
“Ex Situ” Pompidou Centre, Paris
“Red Never Follows” Saatchi Gallery, London
“Unsupervised” Lombard-Freid Projects, NYC
“Wooster Collective’s 10 year Anniversary” Jonathan Levine Gallery
“Holding Cell” Ruttkowski 68, Cologne – SOLO
“Living Layers” Wunderkammern Gallery, Rome – SOLO
“Anonymous” Perm Museum, Perm Russia
“Highbrow, Lowbrow, Nobrow” MAMA, Rotterdam
“Family Room” Carmichael Gallery/VOLTA, NYC – SOLO
“Reality Bites” Venice, CA
“The Underbelly Show” Opera Gallery, Miami
“ROJO Nova” Casa Franca, Rio de Janeiro
“Meaning is Overrated” Carmichael Gallery, Los Angeles – SOLO
“Hell’s Half Acre” Tunnel 228, London
“Subglobe 2” Konsthall, Örebro, Sweden
“ROJO Nova” MIS, São Paulo
“Street and Studio” Kunsthalle, Vienna
“Purple Splendor” Ve.sch, Vienna – SOLO
“The Golden Ass and Other Stories” Stricola Contemporary, NYC – SOLO
“Grifters” Lazarides Gallery, London
“Tunnel 228” London
“Manifest Hope” Washington DC
“Picnic In the City” Sangsangmadang Gallery, Seoul
“Fresh Air Smells Funny” Kunsthalle Dominikanerkirche, Osnabrück, Germany
“Behind the Seen” Ad Hoc Gallery, NYC
“Santa’s Ghetto” Bethlehem, West Bank
“Glazed Paradise” Diesel Gallery, Tokyo – SOLO
“Call it what you like” Kunstcentre Silkeborg Bad, Denmark
“Outsiders” Lazarides Gallery, London
“Recordings” Taubman Museum, Roanoke VA
“Outcasts” Lazarides Gallery, London – SOLO
“Open City” Eyebeam center, NYC
“BMGAA” BLK/MRKT Gallery, LA
“Santa’s Ghetto” London
Fabien Castanier Gallery, Los Angeles
City Leaks, Cologne
Bien Urbain, Besancon
White Walls, Beirut
Walk and Talk Festival, Sao Miguel, Azores
Katowice Street Art Festival, Katowice, Poland
RVA Street Art festival, Richmond, VA
Dublin Contemporary 2011, Dublin
OpenART, Konsthall, Örebro, Sweden
42° Latitud Arte, Tudela, Spain
Inside Out, SECCA, Winston-Salem, NC
Fame Festival, Studio Cromie, Grottaglie, Italy
How Do You Are Beach, Les Grandes Traversees, Royan, France
How Do You Are, Bordeaux, France
VII Simposio Puerto del Rosario, Fuerteventura, Canary Islands
Interferencia, Barcelona
Under the Rainblow, Malmö, Sweden
STEP, Warsaw
Reciclarte, Lisbon