"Chits & Chats"
an exhibition featuring works by Mark Cowardin
May 3rd - June 14th
With an opening reception 05.03.24 5-8 PM
Mark Cowardin is a father, a husband, an artist, and an educator. His studio practice consists of an essential and delicate balance of these four passions. Mark’s sculptural work examines the complicated, sometimes troubling, and always compelling intersection between humans and the natural world. His graceful sculptures juxtapose materials and conflicting ideas, and as a native U.S. Midwesterner, Cowardin examines the complex relationship to natural resources that the Midwest sometimes embodies. The implications of Cowardin’s narratives are sometimes alarming, complex and layered, and often ultimately tinged with yearning for a connection to the past and a hope for the future.
At the core of all of Mark’s work is a keen awareness of his personal connection to the delicate environs of which he speaks. Much of the work begins with the observation of the absurd as it relates to the intersection of humans and the natural world, shedding light on the extreme beauty that ironically exists in some of humankinds' most damaging examples of consumption. Chits & Chats is a body of workthat illustrates these points in a variety of ways. This work is inspired by Mark’s personal history of growing up surrounded by mining remnants and chat piles near his childhood home in rural Joplin. These locations once served as his magical playgrounds and regular destinations for youthful imagination. Simultaneously enchanting and horrific, these remnants of lead and zinc extraction expose the needs for more thoughtful and careful balance of interactions with nature. Most of the Chits & Chats works began with the molding of actual rocks from these playground/chat piles, and then cast into ceramic. Defying gravity and implying various functions of extraction and consumption, these works are playful illustrations of not only our dependence on nature, but also the impact of our presence.
Born in Lamar, Missouri and raised in the Joplin area, Mark Cowardin received an MFA in sculpture from the University of Arizona and a BFA from the University of Kansas. Professor of Art and Co-Chair at Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, Mark currently resides with his family in Lawrence, Kansas. His work is included in numerous private and public collections including the John Michael Kohler Art Center, Kohler Corporation, the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, and Rockhurst University. In 2023, Cowardin mounted four solo exhibitions, and the Nerman MOCA presented his large-scale installation Drift as a part of the Sun Drinks White exhibition.About: