Louis Marak
Louis Marak begins each piece with a full-size drawing that is transferred onto clay slabs and used as the pattern to cut the slabs and build the sculpture. His subject matter deals ...
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Typical Marks
About
- Biography
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Louis Marak begins each piece with a full-size drawing that is transferred onto clay slabs and used as the pattern to cut the slabs and build the sculpture. His subject matter deals primarily with containers and containment.His surface decoration is precise, created using ceramic slips applied in several layers to create optical illusions and perspective. Marak airbrushes the darker areas of his pieces.
Thetrompe l'oeil decoration, in combination with the related sculptural elements, further tricks the viewer into reading 2D and 3D images as one composition. Reoccurring motifs include fish, hands, and water.
" - Apprenticeships & Residencies
- Primary Work Experience
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1969-2006
Faculty, Humboldt State University, Arcata, California
Other
- Public Collections
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Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, New York
Henry Art Museum, Seattle, Washington
Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, China
Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Los Angeles, California
National Museum of Jakarta, Indonesia
Oakland Museum, Oakland, California
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Renwick Gallery, Washington, D.C.
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, California
Suntory Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan
- Bibliography
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Almy, Katherine, “Louis Marak’s Ceramics: Perspective and Retrospective,” North Coast Journal Weekly, February 23, 2006.
Pierson, Cathy Ray, “The Slab Work of Louis Marak,” Ceramics Monthly, February, 1997.
- CV or Resume
- Website(s)
Citation: Louis Marak, "The Marks Project."
Last modified April 29, 2026. https://www.themarksproject.org/artists/louis-marak
