"I pay no attention whatever to anybody's praise or blame. I simply follow my own feelings." Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
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Artist Statement
Am I really an artist??
For those who prefer a more historical record of an artist's career detailing accomplishments and accolades please skip to the below section for a summary of that. Posting a laundry list of exhibitions and shows is not my thing.
There is a form below that if you want to contact me. I would love to hear from you.
A more authentic and personal description of my art career to date would include many life changing events that have happened along the way. They have opened me to a greater understanding of myself and humanity. These experiences would not have come if I had not become an artist. Some of these changes have found expression in my art works. Some have been deep soul shifting experiences that come when one opens the heart wider to receive more creative energy and instead finds some thing unexpected beginning to unfold. I did not realize when I became an artist, that art was my quest for truth and wholeness, and in it I would find the realization that there is no truth; truth is a living dynamic that unfolds through the living of life; if you want truth, start living your life. It has also included a journey through both heaven and hell. As J Krishnamurti said: "Truth is a pathless land."
There are many esoteric explanations for an artist out there that keep us on the fringe of society, and I'm really not that different than other people. My mind serves up the same dysfunctional, bothersome crap at times as most people; it's just in a different context. I realized this with stark clarity one day while I was at work building "the cup" (building) to be with "the coffee pot" (building) where I once lived in Virginia. My mind began to nag me that I should be busy making "art" that I could sell to pay bills. My reply to this over-bearing monologue was simple: "this IS art."- end of conversation with self.
Yeah. I'm an artist...
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Mark Breithaupt, is a mid-career sculpture artist working in stone, steel, and mixed media.
Mark’s career as a stone sculptor began after moving to Phoenix, Arizona into a home adjacent to the Phoenix Mountain Preserve. Mark applied his artistic talent to the creation of unique rock sculptures, fountains, and water features, combining the natural splendor of the native rocks with an artistic flair. Over time, his work evolved into pieces of sculpture with a water component, rather than “fountains,” and then to sculptures in and of themselves.
Mark's use of stainless steel and stone, mixed media works, are another culmination of his range of style and diversity. "I'm always searching for new expressions in sculpture while nurturing my own unique style.”
Mark’s abstract stone, and stone and steel sculptures have been treasured by collectors from around the world. Mark has participated in solo and group gallery exhibitions from Main Street in Scottsdale, Arizona's prestigious arts district to Sedona, Arizona and various galleries throughout the southwest. Mark's sculptural work won Best in Show in the sculpture category at the 2010 Utah Arts Festival.
Most recently, Mark expanded his medium to embrace the visceral nature and style of raw, carbon steel, creating a broad range of engaging works by combining industrial found-steel, engineered components and manufactured steel materials. “I found a very satisfying transition to the added creation of steel works where I can again bring the skills of form and balance and the generous use of negative space into my creations. My love for the rewarding challenges of “direct sculpting”, where raw materials and inspiration are married through the sculpting process, and the finished result is not known until it is reached, still fuels my creative drive. The technique of creating from the void of unknowing is the real joy that I find in my work. This creative style has been a catalyst for artistic and personal growth throughout my career and life. Please note that my most recent, monumental sized sculptural work is the Coffee Pot House in Lexington, Virginia. Please also note that I am not the original builder. A now past, local visionary built the original structure with the help of his family. I helped them finish it...
I now reside in Silver City, NM, and operate my studio, "Cholla Cholla" at 707 N. Bullard St. in the historic arts district there.
Artist Statement (Biographical)
