Mark Weller is a fulltime artist represented by David Hummer of the D. Anthony Gallery of Wausau, Wisconsin and by Margaret LeMay of Integrated Art Group of Madison, Wisconsin. In the past 3 years Weller’s work has appeared throughout the country in 16 art museums and over 100 galleries exhibitions as well as 2 magazines and 1 book. Selected highlights include Manhattan Arts International of New Your City, The Holy Gallery of London, UK, The Black Box Gallery of Portland, the Praxis Gallery of Minneapolis, the MiKiHASi Gallery of San Francisco, and the Stola Contemporary Art Gallery of Chicago. Weller has won 32 awards for his work. Selected highlights include Best in Show from Envision Arts of Dallas, TX, a gold medal from the Kira Arts Gallery of Toronto, and an Honorable Mention from the Wausau Museum of Contemporary Arts. In his home state of Wisconsin Weller has exhibited at the D. Anthony Gallery in Wausau, the Trout Museum of Art in Appleton, Gallery Marzen in Madison, The Miller Art Museum in Sturgeon Bay, the Cedarburg Art Museum, The Racine Art Museum, Wright Museum of Art at Beloit College, Museum of Wisconsin Art in West Bend, and Nicolet College in Rhinelander. He also has had solo shows at the Anderson Arts Center in Kenosha, The Pump House Regional Arts Center in La Crosse, The Aventine Gallery in Madison, and the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Corporations, health care institutions and individual collectors in 16 states have acquired Mark’s work.
Weller grew up in Manitowoc, WI. He graduated in 1977 with a bachelor’s degree in Mass Communications from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee and started his career in Alaska as a documentary film producer. In 1980 he moved to Madison to produce documentaries for PBS Wisconsin. During his 13-year tenure as Senior Producer for News and Documentaries, he produced numerous documentaries and shorts for both the statewide public television network and for PBS nationally, receiving numerous awards. A partial list of awards includes Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Iris, Milwaukee Press Club, International Film Society of New York, Wisconsin Broadcasters Association, and a regional Emmy.
In 1992 he switched careers to join a startup telecommunications company and eventually was named President and CEO. In Mark’s 27-year career and under his leadership, the company grew exponentially and is credited with being a key partner in connecting all Wisconsin school districts, libraries and state agencies with a state-of-the-art digital fiber-optic video and data network.
Weller retired in 2019. For the past 25 years, Weller has been a photographer and upon retirement dedicated himself to his art full time to creating art in the state he holds precious.
Mark Weller's art explores the fourth dimension, Time. That element is integral to his art. Unlike traditional photography which captures three dimensions, Weller seeks a higher truth by examining the effects of time on the subjects he photographs. Weller's primary focus is on clouds which celebrate the distinctive look of the Upper Midwest. He depicts the either playful twirling or the menacing texture of the atmosphere. Weller's work has a painterly feel to it, the result of taking 100 exposures over several moments then stacking the exposures into a single image. He separates each exposure by some measure of time – a second, perhaps many seconds or even minutes – which allows a landscape to more truthfully reveal itself, reaching beyond the limits of human sight, which – like traditional photography – only captures the moment in front of the viewer.
Why limit the visual universe to what one sees only in the moment they see it? Weller's portraits of clouds are more honest and accurate. To what end, may the viewer ask? How the viewer sees things fundamentally influences their perception of their surroundings, their attitudes, their understanding of who they are and how we all fit into the cosmos. Weller's work reflects Midwestern values: connections to the land, conservation of precious water, incredible wilderness, the uniqueness of prairies and wetlands, the splendor of a stream, the beauty of the landscape filled with texture all under the signature look of the Upper Midwest with clouds dancing and bending above.
His aesthetic is rooted in the likes of Wood, O’Keeffe, Cox, and Benton. Each of these Midwest born artists have influenced Weller by their interpretation of nature and the landscape, and the ability to use shapes to convey feeling, mood, and atmosphere. With their influence, Weller creates art of the land he loves.
April 19, 2024 - May 31, 2024
