Artist Statement
Mark Viola
Through explores the layered nature of perception—how images are constructed, and what exists beneath them. Each painting begins with a recognizable figure, but moves beyond fixed identity. Text, sketches, and revisions remain visible, revealing the process of making and collapsing the boundary between surface and depth.
This approach reflects an ongoing focus—using layers, marks, and material to move past representation alone. Rather than capturing only what is seen, the work invites a deeper engagement with the subject, suggesting that identity is shaped as much by what is hidden as by what is revealed.
The inclusion of ballerinas extends this idea through the body—where discipline and vulnerability exist simultaneously.
Mark Viola is a Toronto-based artist and educator whose recent work focuses on concepts of identity, image, and transformation, Through invites a slower act of looking, where meaning is not immediate, but uncovered over time.
Artist Statement
Mark Viola
Through explores the layered nature of perception—how images are constructed, and what exists beneath them. Each painting begins with a recognizable figure, but moves beyond fixed identity. Text, sketches, and revisions remain visible, revealing the process of making and collapsing the boundary between surface and depth.
This approach reflects an ongoing focus—using layers, marks, and material to move past representation alone. Rather than capturing only what is seen, the work invites a deeper engagement with the subject, suggesting that identity is shaped as much by what is hidden as by what is revealed.
The inclusion of ballerinas extends this idea through the body—where discipline and vulnerability exist simultaneously.
Mark Viola is a Toronto-based artist and educator whose recent work focuses on concepts of identity, image, and transformation, Through invites a slower act of looking, where meaning is not immediate, but uncovered over time.
