Mark Gonzales
The artworks crackle with movement fittingly—Gonzales is a dancer, in the tradition of Merce Cunningham or Trisha Brown, but on wheels. His teenage years in 1980s Los Angeles were spent traversing the streets, which, by proxy, became his moving canvas. He earned a reputation as a pioneer of modern skateboarding—a master, albeit one not bound by flawlessness or precision, but the anarchy afforded only after achieving true mastery. It was as if he haphazardly broke the laws of nature, causing time and space to bend to him, leaving a wake of influential agitation behind him.
His art, like his poetry, is not separate from his skating. Gonzales’s canvases are filled with painterly technique honed over years of drawing and painting, but they also exhibit a shambolic quality; the works are precise and imprecise all at once. This particular body is inspired by the disappointment he felt when his business partner “sold out” in the early 1990s, the faces are bursting with bitterness. They are put-on fake smiles, cheerful in the face of misery and embarrassment. Years later, however, the harsh cynicism has softened, and the power of the smiles seems to have cracked the regret. Indeed, Gonzales seems to be saying, flowers, grown in even the harshest of conditions, can have an immutable healing power.
Artist Exhibitions
April 27th – June 15th, 2019
Artist News
Opening Day photos of Mark Gonzales’ ‘Going to Love You’ by Glen Jamn Exhibition open until April 7th, 2024.
Mark Gonzales Bergdorf’s Father’s Day Painting, 2023 Acrylic on Canvas 72h x 111w in 182.88h x 281.94w cm Click to see a video of Gonzales […]
Mark Gonzales “Untitled 15” “Untitled 15 “ Acrylic on Canvas Artwork Size – 12in x 16in 2022 From “Ready to Articulate” Exhibited at HVW8 Los […]
Join Mark Gonzales for a signing of his Rizzoli book in New York. The book features photography from Sem Rubio as well as contributions by […]
SPECIAL THANKS: Mark and Tia Gonzales THE SKATEROOM adidas LA Ryan Clements Hanni El Khatib ARTV is a production of HVW8 Gallery Produced by […]
Thank you to everyone that visited HVW8 Berlin for Gallery Weekend. ‘Selections’ runs through June 15th. Photos by Mike Matias
HVW8 Gallery and adidas Originals present: SELECTIONS – MARK GONZALES (FOWER PLOWER) & ERIN D. GARCIA (GRAND PRIX) Berlin Gallery Weekend 2019 Opening: Friday, April […]
Mark Gonzalez ‘Fower Plower’ opening night at HVW8 Gallery, Los Angeles. Shot and edited by Joe Miller. Music “Mondo and His Makeup” Performed by Hanni […]
Recent Press from Mark Gonzales “Fower Plower” exhibit Purple Magazine Additional Press GQ Interview with Mark Gonzales Amuse/ iD : Mark Gonzales Opens Solo Show […]
Thank you to everyone who passed by for the opening of ‘Fower Plower’. More photos on HVW8 Facebook. Film Photography by Reserve Result.
After Party –
Opening Day photos of Mark Gonzales’ ‘Going to Love You’ by Glen Jamn Exhibition open until April 7th, 2024.
Mark Gonzales Bergdorf’s Father’s Day Painting, 2023 Acrylic on Canvas 72h x 111w in 182.88h x 281.94w cm Click to see a video of Gonzales […]
Mark Gonzales “Untitled 15” “Untitled 15 “ Acrylic on Canvas Artwork Size – 12in x 16in 2022 From “Ready to Articulate” Exhibited at HVW8 Los […]
Join Mark Gonzales for a signing of his Rizzoli book in New York. The book features photography from Sem Rubio as well as contributions by […]
SPECIAL THANKS: Mark and Tia Gonzales THE SKATEROOM adidas LA Ryan Clements Hanni El Khatib ARTV is a production of HVW8 Gallery Produced by […]
Thank you to everyone that visited HVW8 Berlin for Gallery Weekend. ‘Selections’ runs through June 15th. Photos by Mike Matias
HVW8 Gallery and adidas Originals present: SELECTIONS – MARK GONZALES (FOWER PLOWER) & ERIN D. GARCIA (GRAND PRIX) Berlin Gallery Weekend 2019 Opening: Friday, April […]
Mark Gonzalez ‘Fower Plower’ opening night at HVW8 Gallery, Los Angeles. Shot and edited by Joe Miller. Music “Mondo and His Makeup” Performed by Hanni […]
Recent Press from Mark Gonzales “Fower Plower” exhibit Purple Magazine Additional Press GQ Interview with Mark Gonzales Amuse/ iD : Mark Gonzales Opens Solo Show […]
Thank you to everyone who passed by for the opening of ‘Fower Plower’. More photos on HVW8 Facebook. Film Photography by Reserve Result.
After Party –