States of Decay #5:KaraAdrift, cut map collage and gouache

Mark M. Garret is an artist who makes a practice out of drawing with scissors. Creating collages from bits of paper and old maps, Mark references topological forms, water, trees, and numerous other landscape features as well as purely abstract compositions.

States of Decay: Lakota Dream, cut map collage and gouache

Mark’s most recent map paintings are quite stunning. I adore the color palette that the artist has chosen for most of these – it heavily features deep blues and greens, far more saturated than the colors of the oceans on most maps, yet still seeming to reference those planes of blue. Cut into shapes ranging from large curved planes to very narrow tendrils of paper, the shredded maps are arranged in whirlpool patterns, often a black substrate that makes the blues particularly striking.

The front page of Mark's website

These root-like, tendril forms are prevalent throughout Mark’s portfolio. In recent series, the artist has been working with ink, creating half-drawing, half-painting artworks that are essentially abstracted, but call to mind thick root systems, tree branches, veins, and river systems seen from above.  

Bramble6