Let’s open up a can of worms shall we! Does being based in Adelaide in any way hinder an artist to push their creative work out to the world?
In Lobert’s case, the answer would have to be no. Currently preparing for a New York exhibition in September, he is based in Adelaide by choice and wouldn’t have it any other way. “I love it and I’m proud of it,” Mark says. “My clients sit around the country, and around the world, and this city is a place to embrace and we’ve got so much here to inspire us. We should take what we have and enjoy it.”
Lobert’s work is certainly inspired by what he sees around him, though not in a realist sense. His abstract work is based upon flowers, colours, city scapes, but most importantly people. “I absorb and adapt the world around me, and I love the energy and vibe of people. I have friends around when I’m painting because I love the atmosphere. It makes me more productive. People around me feed into my work. I don’t smoke, drink that often or do drugs. My kick comes from listening to people, from movies, the whole breadth of human experience that is around me,” he explains.
And it’s a vibrant world that he reflects. For Mark, everything that he paints is about sharing joy. He tells his stories through colour as much as imagery. And Adelaide would know his story as he’s spent the last 8 years adorning the walls of the Adelaide Airport, in a partnership which ended just six weeks ago. Having such a trafficked space has helped informed Mark’s natural artistic evolution over recent years. “I always consider other peoples feelings when I paint. When you’re exhibiting in a public arena you’ve got to go for the whole generic spectrum, so to speak; you have to target every audience. You don’t want to offend you want to affect, to lift people coming home, to make them happy for whatever day they’re having. Seeing these works is supposed to be a positive experience.”
Which brings Mark to his next aim, to evolve his work o the ultimate public arena of fashion, what people choose to place on their bodies and how they personally present themselves in the world. “To do that I need to make my work a bit brighter perhaps. To take what I’ve already done and adapt it again to a different medium. It’s easier to slowly evolve and enjoy the journey than to place to much pressure to keep pushing the envelope. So we’ll see where this next journey take me.”
Mark also happens to have a warehouse sale of his works on this weekend at Warehouse 16, 2-8 Gray St. Click here for more details on the event and directions to the warehouse.
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