Jamaican Artist Mark Anthony Hill Debuts Provocative Art Show At One Art Space In Tribeca

Jamaican artist Mark Anthony Hill is proud to present "The Journey," a solo art show of his new original paintings on exhibit in NYC from October 11th - 15th, 2018. The opening reception will be on Thursday, October 11th, 2018, from 6-9 pm at One Art Space Gallery, located at 23 Warren Street in lower Manhattan.

Mark Anthony Hill describes himself as an artist who does not view himself through the perception of others. Instead, his singular life journey shapes his vision. Hill's creative talent was first discovered by teachers at his high school in Montego Bay, Jamaica. He went on to produce public murals and paintings for his hometown. However, it was his athleticism that dominated this stage of Hill's life. Starting with college soccer, Hill was soon recruited by Jamaica's Bobsled Team. In 2002, Hill was training for the winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, when disaster struck. Hill got into a serious accident on the slopes which caused injuries to his face that required 150 stitches as well as severe ice burns all over his body. Hill credits his athletic training as a major factor in his physical and mental recovery. He eventually retired from professional sports in 2007.

After some time away from art, Hill returned to painting with a vengeance in September 2017. His new-found determination and laser focus on his art manifest clearly in his new paintings, which are urgent, powerful and at times confrontational. Hill cites Pablo Picasso as one of his influences as well as Valente Malangatana Ngwenga and Wilfredo Lam. During his world travels with the Olympic team, Hill was able to view art in the great museums of Europe, including the Trocadero museum in Paris, which is where Picasso found the inspiration to create Demosoiselles d'Avigno (a work that changed the world of art).

Hill has described his creative journey as a deliberate 'improvised revision.' He draws on both African visual culture and twentieth-century European cubism. This blend creates a new and vital interpretation for the twenty-first century. "I go where the art leads," says Hill. This new interpretation is apparent in many of the paintings on view at One Art Space. When producing these works, the artist paints in a storage unit that allows only 30% of light to pass through. "It makes my work brighter when exhibited in the natural light," explains Hill. Through this journey between shadow and light, colors and forms emerge that are vivid and shifting, never still. The artist himself does not see what he has created until the painting emerges from the darkness of the studio. Human figures, shapes, eyes, monsters contort and loom and move in the darkness around the women Hill paints. It is unclear whether she is inviting them, conjuring them or fighting with them. The painting seems to move and deepen before the viewer's eyes.

Mr. Hill is an artist who has lived many lives. He investigates many perspectives through his art, never remaining in one place long enough to be defined. This new exhibit will last only five days at One Art Space Come experience this powerful journey with artist Mark Anthony Hill, Oct. 11-15, at One Art Space in Tribeca!

For more info: markarthill.com