If we accept the idea that art is inherently both decorative and political, we begin to grasp its full power. Work that leans more toward decoration may mask its political position, but it still conveys economic value and status. An artwork that implores the viewer to read its political content over time becomes increasingly decorative. Inevitably, those artists with a political axe to grind are the most exciting to experience, sharing their ambitions, sometimes wild, sometimes disagreeable, always thought-provoking.
In this spirit, we invite you to view Mark Kelner’s American Mosaic. Mark is energetic, talkative, and intelligent. His work tells us where we are today, from an insightful, sometimes humorous, and always worthwhile contemplative perspective.
Mark Kelner is a visual artist and filmmaker based in Brooklyn and Washington, DC. Conceived in Russia, born in Ohio, and raised by television, Kelner’s art is often rooted in the refraction of overlapping, if not, competing national identities. Kelner has shown at the American University Museum in Washington, DC, The Container in Tokyo, Ronald Feldman Gallery in New York, Librairie du Globe in Paris, Art Contemporary Los Angeles, and HEMPHILL Artworks in Washington, DC among others. His work can be found in many private and public collections including the American University Museum, Washington, DC, Capital Jewish Museum, Washington, DC, Moscow Museum of Modern Art, Moscow, Russia and the Zuzeum Art Centre, Riga, Latvia.