- Venue
- Curious Duke Gallery
- Location
It’s always worth venturing into an unfamiliar gallery, even if what is in the window doesn’t immediately appeal. You just never know what you may find. I’m glad I looked further into Curious Duke Gallery, as I found an artist whose work I greatly admire.
Mark Powell draws on vintage and antique documents, maps, letters and envelopes. He has that sort of technique which is so expert it even impresses artists – or perhaps especially artists – we can all appreciate exquisite skill.
Anyone could draw on a precious old piece of paper, and ruin it. Powell intricately biro’s portraits of older faces, somehow matching something about their expression with the spirit of the document – a faded letter, an obsolete map.
Personally, Powel’s work resonates with sensibilities I aspire to in my own practice, in collecting and using older artefacts in new work. I think of it as layers of provenance, and I greatly admire that successful balance in his drawings. They are illustrative and yet remade artefacts. Apparently he draws birds sometimes. I’d like to see those.
In my imagination Powell’s practice seems like an ideal lifestyle, in sourcing and discovering the documents, observing and recording interesting faces, and then performing his alchemy by producing the works.
