Art in Exile: Mark Maggiori

Art in Exile: a blog series focused on introducing beauty into the social media stream during a season of self-quarantine, social distancing, and a global pandemic.

For this Art in Exile, I want to introduce you to a painter I love–Mark Maggiori. A friend turned me on to Mark’s Instagram account, and I was hooked. 

Mark Maggiori is a Frenchman living in LA. He became fascinated with the American west at 15 during a family road trip across the states. Back in Paris, he studied art at the famous Academie Jullian. He moved to the states in his 30’s. 

Mark started painting western scenes at the age of 36. His bio notes that “in the space of just a few short years Mark rose through the ranks to become one of the premier Western artists working today.” 

To hone his craft, Mark “started to work more in plein air, he spent time on ranches with cowboys and on horseback to acquaint himself more with the Western way of life. He spent time in New Mexico, Arizona and Wyoming…”

I am drawn to the American West. I love Louis L’Amour novels (which I’ve written about). I think it’s the paradox of complexity and simplicity, of beauty and danger co-existing. 

A couple years ago, my family took a road trip across the states through New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah. It was the most beautiful and stark country I’ve ever seen. I was not prepared for what I saw. 

A couple years ago on Instagram, Mark posted pictures of a drive he took across northern Arizona. Along the way he stopped to paint the Vermillion Cliffs, which my family also stopped to see during our trip. I hope to see his finished work. 

I love this piece—how the horse keeps watch to the left as the cowboy takes the right, the inferred bond between them. I love the composition, the use of white, the effect of the moonlight, the stars. 

For more, check out www.markmaggiori.com. To get his work in your feed, follow him on Instagram.