Photo credit Ameila Reed @Ameliajanephoto

Mark Bletcher(b.1995, UK) lives and works in Newcastle Upon Tyne. He received his BA in Fine art from Newcastle University (2019). He received the Elizabeth Greenshields Award (2023-4).  Bletcher was a recipient of the Gwen May Award from the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers (2020). He has exhibited with OHSH Projects (2023), Northern Print (2023), Newcastle Contemporary (2022) and Gallagher and Turner (2022). Bletcher co-founded MinutesOn, a project that builds community through conversations with artists.

Bletcher’s work uses the visual language of modern magical realism to explore ideas around subjectivity, narrative, and perception.

Mark Bletcher’s recent work explores the role of myth in shaping our identity. Inspired by a contemporary engagement with historical fragmented texts, including popular examples like the Iliad, the artist invites us to wonder what might be lost, obscured, or transformed by our limited understating of the past and how these stories can be retold through a modern perspective. The work is informed by research of modern literature as well as queer art and social history.

“If the dead are buried in rows, then I will draw their feet together so they can dance. If a cavity has been left, then I will fill it with plaster. I’m not looking for ghosts or treasure but I’m looking for my friends. I'm looking for friends who remind me of myself and friends that surprise me. I’m looking for a fantasy, a myth, a legend, a history that binds me to this place.”

If you wish to contact the artist, please email markbletcherart@gmail.com with your inquiry.

For sales, please purchase work through a gallery or online through Newblood Art.

  Mark Bletcher wishes to thank The Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation for its financial support.

Image: Dancing lights, 2023, Ink on Paper (Custom Frame) 21 x 21 cm (33.5 x 33.5 cm)