Mark Witzling
Recent Work
My recent work focuses on the physicality of oil and cold wax, allowing the surface to develop through layering and excavation. I build and remove paint in cycles, using a range of tools to create structure and reveal what lies beneath. The process is intuitive and responsive, with each decision shaped by what the painting suggests as it evolves. These paintings reflect an ongoing commitment to material exploration and to the deliberate act of making.
Truth Series
The truth lies beneath. Our public discourse often obscures the underlying truths and covers facts. This thought permeated my thinking while in the studio creating this series. I applied oil, graphite and cold wax in a slow building of multiple layers to represent this thought, each layer partially obscuring the layers beneath yet exposing just enough that we know that the real facts remain below. The real truth is there, it’s underneath and needs to be discovered. It is our responsibility to pay attention, seeking and discovering this underlying truth.
Pathways Series
From structured paths to meandering lines and unexpected shapes, the Pathway series evokes emotions ranging from hope and curiosity to uncertainty and resolve, inviting you to reflect on the complexities of life’s journey – those moments of clarity, divergence and the surprise of the unknown. What direction are you heading? The interplay of warm and cool hues conveys a sense of life’s passion and vitality while graphite marks suggest new directions and pathways.
Bio
Mark Witzling is an award-winning nonrepresentational oil painter. Mark has studied, painted and taught in studios across the country. His art is in the collection of the Museum of Encaustic Art in Santa Fe and private collections in the US, Europe and Asia. His work appears in the book Cold Wax Medium – Techniques, Concepts, Conversations. Mark has received a Diderot Grant and multiple Regional Arts Commission Artist Grants. He was selected into the St. Louis Art Fair Emerging Artist program in 2017-18, awarded residencies at Chateau Orquevaux, France (2018 and 2024) and Wildacres Retreat (North Carolina, 2023). In 2024 he was a Finalist in the Biennial Project 2024 in Venice. He has judged numerous art fairs and has served on the Board of Hope Creates and the Delmar Maker District. Engaged in his full-time artist practice, Mark previously served as Executive Director of Craft Alliance in St. Louis, MO and holds degrees from Macalester College and Boston University.
Artist Statement
My passion for contemporary art is born out of seeing the paintings and sculptures of the renowned Masters in Europe and being inspired to better understand their processes and visions. In short, I asked “what were they thinking?” This led to my own exploration and a personal journey to an artistic creative life. Like those Masters, and later a growing interest in the abstract expressionists, the very act of creating my visual expressions deepens my self-awareness and self- understanding. Painting itself serves as a reverential way of exploring my innermost thoughts while also serving as the vehicle to communicate this exploration. I know myself better.
In my painting process, I choose to blend cold wax with my oils, creating added body and transparency to the paint. Through this approach I build layers of paint, creating depth while embracing subtle texture, bold shapes, lines and expressive marks. I spread, scrape, carve, and drip as I build up the work while revealing glimpses of what lies beneath. This process feels like uncovering artifacts of my past – each layer holding fragments of a hidden history, inviting viewers to look closely, to feel the evolution of the piece over time. As I build these sometimes-complex surfaces and as my own history constantly expands, each shape, mark and layer connect the depth of the past to the shapes, marks and layers yet to come, each painting capturing a moment in time and preparing me for the next. These embedded histories become the heart of each painting, much like we uncover our own histories and experiences to better understand ourselves. Ultimately, through my process I understand myself more deeply with each new painting I create.
mwitzling@gmail.com www.markwitzlingart.com Text:314-307-7973
Socials: Instagram/Facebook @markwitzlingart
CV
mwitzling@gmail.com 314-307-7973 markwitzlingart.com
Solo Exhibitions
2025 Truth Within, Southern Vermont Art Center, Manchester Vermont
2024 Upon Further Reflection, Edward Jones, St. Louis, Missouri
2021 Serendipity Labs Gallery, St. Louis, Missouri
2021 Belonging, Washington University Medical School Gallery, St. Louis, Missouri
2019 Ethical Society of St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri
2018 Industrious, St. Louis, Missouri
2017 Pershing Place, Private Gallery, St. Louis, Missouri
2017 Renaissance Hotel Artist Gallery, St. Louis, Missouri
2016 1900 Park Creative Space, Lafayette Square, St. Louis, Missouri
2015 Third Degree Glass Factory, St. Louis, Missouri
2015 Longview Farm, Private Event Center, Town & Country, Missouri
2014 Positive Memory, SPACE Architecture, St. Louis, Missouri
2013 Starlight Gallery, Highland, Illinois
2013 Layers of Art, Picasso’s Coffee, St. Charles, Missouri
Selected Group Exhibitions and Events
2026 Got Wax?, d’Art Center, Norfolk, Virginia
2026 Large Works, Green Root Gallery, Belleville, Illinois
2026 Chasing The Light, Soulard Art Gallery, St. Louis, Missouri
2025 A Textured Experience, Green Door Gallery, Webster Groves, Missouri
2025 No Hard Edges, Woodward Contemporary, San Diego, California
2025 A Quiet Conversation, St. Louis Artists Guild, St. Louis, Missouri
2025 Member’s Juried Exhibition, St. Louis Artist Guild, St. Louis, Missouri
2024 Juried Show, Finalist, The Biennial Project, Venice, Italy, Juror: Ralph Waltmans, Director of Cultural Affairs, Esch-Sur-Alzette, Luxembourg
2024 10th Biannual Exhibition, Angad Arts Hotel, St. Louis, Missouri
2024 A Change of Scenery, St. Louis Artists Guild, St. Louis, Missouri, Juror: Michael Anderson
2024 Celebrate The Blue, Invitational; ReImagine Gallery, Fairview, North Carolina
2024 Winter Eden, Scenic Regional Library Gallery, Hermann, Missouri
2024 Columbia Art League, Group show, Columbia, Missouri
2024 Picasso at the Lapin Agile, Kirkwood Community Theater Guild, Kirkwood, Missouri
2023 Member Exhibition, St. Louis Artists Guild, St. Louis, Missouri, Juror: Yingxue Zuo Selected from 300 submitted works
2023 Small Works Invitational, Duane Reed Gallery, St. Louis, Missouri
2023 Art & Wine, Longview Farm, 3-person show, Town & Country, Missouri
2023 Visions of Form and Space, St. Louis Artists Guild, Juror: Brian Smith
2022 Small Works Invitational, Duane Reed Gallery, St. Louis, Missouri
2022 Visions of the American Landscape, St. Louis Artists Guild, St. Louis, Missouri, Juror, Emmy Lingscheit, University of Illinois
2022 Jones Gallery, Crossroads Arts District, Kansas City, Missouri
2022 B’nai Amoona Gallery, Town & Country, Missouri
2022 Small Works, Bonboni Gallery, St. Louis, Missouri
2021 Unreal, Abstract Invitational, St. Charles Community College, St. Charles, Missouri, Curator: Brian Smith, St. Charles Community College
2021 Visualizing Hope, Gretchen Brigham Gallery, Juried Exhibition, Juror: Terrence Dempsey, Founder Museum of Contemporary Religious Art
2020 Guest Artist, Green Door Gallery, Webster Groves, Missouri
2020 Balance, Jacoby Arts Center, Alton, Illinois
2020 On The Road - Best Of Missouri Hands, Hannibal Arts Council, Hannibal, Missouri
2020 Small Works, Juried Exhibition, Webster Arts, Webster Groves, Missouri
2019 Ann Metzger Memorial National Exhibition, St. Louis Artists Guild, St. Louis, Missouri, Juror: Hannah Klemm, Assistant Curator Modern and Contemporary Art, St. Louis Art Museum
2019 Monochrome, Framations Gallery, St. Charles, Missouri, Juror: Jane Barrow, Southern Illinois University
2019 Global Warming Is Real, Museum of Encaustic Art Santa Fe, New Mexico
2019 Grand Opening, Good Weather Gallery, Edwardsville, Illinois
2019 The Works – An Invitational, OA Gallery, Kirkwood, Missouri
2019 Beyond the Horizon, Framations Gallery, St. Charles, Missouri
2018 The State of Our Shared Land, St. Louis Artists Guild, St. Louis, Missouri, Juror: Wassan Al-Khudhari, Contemporary Art Museum
2018 St. Louis Art Fair, Clayton, Missouri
2018 Queeny Park Fall Art Fair, St. Louis County, Missouri
2018 Micro Macro, Foundry Art Centre St. Charles, Missouri, Juror: Peg Fetter
2018 Sky’s The Limit Invitational OA Gallery Kirkwood, Missouri
2018 Symbolism, Art St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, Jurors: Fr. Terrence Dempsey and Cheri Hoffman
2018 Queeny Park Spring Art Fair, St. Louis County, Missouri
2017 Holiday Extravaganza, OA Gallery, Kirkwood, Missouri
2017 Small Group Show, 1900 Park Creative Space, St. Louis, Missouri
2017 20 Grand, Grandel Theater, Kranzberg Arts Foundation, St. Louis, Missouri
2017 Midwest Salute To The Arts, Fairview Heights, Illinois
2017 The Wax Collective, Schmidt Center For The Arts, Southwest Illinois College, Belleville, Illinois
2017 Sky's The Limit, OA Gallery, Landscape Show
2017 Blooming Artists Project, 1900 Park Creative Space, St. Louis
2017 Best Of Show, Old Orchard Gallery, Webster Groves, Missouri
2016 Collector’s Choice, St. Louis Artists Guild, St. Louis, Missouri
2016 Quatrafuss, Annex Art, Berlin, Germany
2016 Serendipity, Art St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri
2016 33, Old Orchard Gallery Webster Groves, Missouri
2016 Waxing Poetic, Grafica Gallery, Webster Groves, Missouri
2016 Many Mini, SOHA Gallery, St. Louis, Missouri
2016 Holiday Extravaganza, OA Gallery, Kirkwood, Missouri
2016 Featured Artist Show, Green Door Art Gallery, Webster Groves, Missouri
2016 Resident Artist, Clayton Fine Art Gallery, Clayton, Missouri
2016 Heather Haymart Gallery – Chesterfield, Missouri
2016 Two Artists, Chesterfield City Hall Gallery, Chesterfield, Missouri
2015 Collector’s Choice, St. Louis Artist Guild, St. Louis, Missouri
2015 ArtWalk, St. Charles Riverfront Arts, St. Charles, Missouri
2015 Activate Art STL, CIC Innovation Center, St. Louis Missouri
2015 MOVE, St. Louis Artist Guild, St. Louis, Missouri
2015 Resident Artist, Clayton Fine Art Gallery, Clayton, Missouri
2015 Heather Haymart Gallery, Chesterfield, Missouri
2014 33 December, Old Orchard Gallery, Webster Groves, Missouri
2014 Des Peres Hospital Exhibition, Art St. Louis, Des Peres, Missouri
2014 The Gallery Show, Serendipity Gallery, St. Louis, Missouri
2014 Resident Artist, Clayton Fine Art Gallery, Clayton, Missouri
2013 Oil/Cold Wax Masters Explorations, Brewery Pottery Gallery, Mineral Point, Wisconsin
2013 Peace On Earth, Northern Arts Council, Cork Gallery, Ferguson, Missouri
2013 Wax Centric, Lillian Yahn Gallery, St. Charles, Missouri
2013 Clearly Human, Juried Show, St. Louis Artist Guild
2013 33 October, Old Orchard Gallery, Webster Groves, Missouri
2013 Out of Town, Northern Arts Council, 427 Gallery, Ferguson, Missouri
2013 TWO, Historic Syndicate Building Gallery, St. Louis, Missouri
2013 St. Louis Artists, Ogletree Deakins Attorney Offices, Clayton, Missouri
2013 Luminous Language, Foundry Art Centre, St. Charles, Missouri
2012 Lay of The Land, St. Louis Artist Guild, St. Louis, Missouri
2012 Wax Centric, Tavern of Fine Arts, St. Louis, Missouri
Select Awards
2019 Honorable Mention, Monochrome, Framations Gallery, St. Charles, Missouri
2019 Award of Mastery - 2D Art, Queeny Park Art Fair, Ballwin, Missouri
2018 1st Place Painting Category, Queeny Park Art Fair, Ballwin, Missouri
2017 2nd Place, Sky’s The Limit, among 100+ paintings, OA Gallery, Kirkwood, Missouri
2016 Best Of Show, 33, Old Orchard Gallery, Webster Groves, Missouri
Grants and Residencies
2025 Regional Arts Commission, Artist Support Grant, St. Louis, Missouri
2024 Chateau d’Orquevaux Artist Residency, Orquevaux, France
2024 Denis Diderot Artist Grant, Orquevaux, France
2024 Regional Arts Commission, Artist Support Grant, St. Louis, Missouri
2023 Regional Arts Commission, Artist Support Grant, St. Louis, Missouri
2023 Wildacres Retreat, Artist Residency, Little Switzerland, North Carolina
2018 Chateau d’Orquevaux, Artist Residency, Orquevaux, France
2018 Denis Diderot Artist Grant, Orquevaux, France
2017 Regional Arts Commission, Artist Support Grant, St. Louis, Missouri
2017 St. Louis Art Fair Emerging Artist Program (2-year program)
Selected Press/Publications
2025 Meet Mark Witzling, VoyageSTL Magazine
2024 Local Artist Selected For Prestigious French Residency” St. Louis Jewish Light
2023 Tiny Sparks, Big Ideas, Syndicated podcast
2021 Conversations - Mark Witzling, Executive Director Craft Alliance, Poole Proof Wisdom, syndicated podcast
2021 Artists In Waiting, AARP Bulletin, US National Circulation
2021 Artfolio 2021, Curated Collection of the World’s Most Exciting Artists” Glitterati Publishing
2020 Artfolio 2020, Curated Collection of the World’s Most Exciting Artists” Glitterati Publishing
2020 Gesso Magazine, cover photo and 2-page spread, Belleville, Illinois
2018 Art & Soul: Mark Witzling Ladue News, Ladue, Missouri
2018 Cold Wax Medium: Techniques, Concepts & Conversations by Crowell & McLaughlin
2017 Featured Artist Mark Witzling, St. Louis Homes & Lifestyles
2017 Painter Fills His Maryland Heights Home With Art, St. Louis Post Dispatch
2017 Ethereal Landscapes, ArtsyShark.com
2016 The Art of Color & Texture, Artsy Shark.com
2014 Local artist uses oil and cold wax to create his paintings, St. Louis Post Dispatch
2014 Cold-wax technique brings depth to artist’s work, St. Louis Jewish Light
Select Collections
2024 Chateau d’Orquevaux International Artists & Writers Collection Gallery, Orquevaux, France
2023 Northern Trust, Corporate Collection
2019 Permanent Collection, Museum of Encaustic Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico
2015 Aegis India LTD, Headquarters Collection, Mumbai, India
Invited Exhibition Juror/Judge
2024 Art In The Park, Columbia Art League, Columbia, Missouri
2024 Queeny Park Art Fair, Ballwin, Missouri
2022 Sababa Art Fair, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri
2021 Best of Missouri Hands, St. Louis, Missouri
2021 Jewels of Hope, Arts As Healing, St. Louis, Missouri
2019 Webster Art Fair, Webster Groves, Missouri
2019 Laumeier Art Fair, Laumeier Sculpture Park, St. Louis, Missouri
Teaching
2025 Shake Rag Alley Arts, Mineral Point, Wisconsin
2024 ReImagine Gallery, Fairview/Asheville, North Carolina
2023 ReImagine Gallery, Fairview/Asheville, North Carolina
2023 Green Door Gallery, St. Louis, Missouri
2022 Layers + Shape + Line in Abstract Oil Painting, Peninsula School of Art, Door County, Wisconsin
2021 Abstract Landscapes in Oil and Cold Wax, Mineral Point, Wisconsin
2016-25 Abstract Oil and Cold Wax Painting – Artist’s Studio, Maryland Heights, MissouriRelated
Education
2024 Workshop, Gordon Studer, Paint Space NOLA, New Orleans, Louisiana
2023 Workshop, Koari Maeyama, Paint Space NOLA, New Orleans, Louisiana
2022 Workshop, Jeff Hirst, Dan Addington, Chicago, Illinois
2017 Private Study, Pamela Caughey, Hamilton, Montana,
2016 Workshop, Lisa Pressman, St. Louis, Missouri
2016 Workshop, Pamela Caughey, Mineral Point, Wisconsin
2015 Mentorship, Janice Mason Steeves, Toronto, Canada
2015 Workshop, Lisa Boardwine, Johnson City, Tennessee
2013 Private Study, Cody Hooper, Albuquerque, New Mexico
2013 Workshop, Rebecca Crowell, Mineral Point, Wisconsin
2012 Workshop, Lisa Sisley-Blinn, Winghaven, Mo.
2012 Cold Wax Painting, Level III Master Level, Rebecca Crowell, Mineral Point, Wisconsin
2012 Cold Wax Painting, Level II, Rebecca Crowell Studio Osseo, Wisconsin
2011 Cold Wax Painting, Level I, Rebecca Crowell Studio Osseo, Wisconsin
2011 Private Study, Julianna Poldi, Santa Fe, New Mexico
1999-25 Private and Group Study, Atelier Rosen, Creve Coeur, Missouri
Formal Education
1986 M.B.A. High Honors, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
1981 B.A. Cum Laude, Economics & Business, Macalester College, St. Paul, Minnesota
Related Professional Experience
2018-2023 Executive Director, Craft Alliance, St. Louis, Missouri
2020-Current Board Member, Delmar Maker District, St. Louis, Missouri
2017-2018 Board Member, Hope Creates, St. Louis, Missouri
2023-2025 Board Member, Hope Creates, St. Louis, Missouri
2015-Current Juried Member, Greater St. Louis Art
2015-Current Member St. Louis Artists Guild, Art Saint Louis