| Do you believe in magic?, Do you believe in luck?, Do you believe in ghosts? An ambivalent magic that embroiders every experience – just ask artist Mark Bletcher, who’s paintings fuse magic, mundanity, and unlikely muses. Bletcher’s work is a self-professed compendium of ‘Modern Magical Realism’, with influences ranging from writer Haruki Murakami to British painter Howard Hodgkin. |
| His work, just as it should be, is hard to pin-down. Take his three painted versions of ‘Night Cat’ (2020), where a Maneki-neko, or ‘lucky cat’ figurine waves in front of a porcelain bowl. Each work is only ever-so-slightly different, bringing a sinister edge that ties gleefully with the brassy and burgundy jewel tones. Like stained-glass windows in an abandoned church, the work haunts with its colour and story. |
| Bletcher also works with lithograph printing, mixing contemporary scenes and classical symbolism. See ‘Birthday Girl’ (2019), a monochromatic print made up of dashing lines and questionable characters. Nightmarish and filmic in scope, his unique technique brings scenes to life with depth and gestural detail. |
| Since graduating Newcastle University in 2019, Bletcher has exhibited across the UK, and was awarded the Gwen May Recent Graduate Award by The Royal Society for Painter-Printmakers. He’s also been shortlisted for the Woon Foundation prize, FBA Futures award, and The Biscuit Factory Contemporary Young Artist award. Most recently he co-founded the postal art network Minutes Exchange, and continues to finesse his practice from his Newcastle studio. |
| We’re thrilled to represent Bletcher’s work, and invite you to browse a selection of his most spellbinding pieces: |
