Mark Acetelli’s paintings exist to awaken your sense of exploration and adventure. The artist's use of shadow and silhouette creates a characteristic freedom from detailed representation and draws from contemplative discovery. A chemistry of complexity and spontaneity, lyrical abstraction of reflection and mental retreats, reveal thick paint marks buried beneath strong layers of self-taught expression. Acetelli uses powerful gestural brushwork to reveal the narrative possibilities in the border area between reality and fantasy. Reminiscent of Italian artist Alberto Giacometti's figures, Acetelli's figures take on a sculptural form within the minimal dimensionality of the surface of the canvas allowing the viewer to imagine movement, motion, and intention.
Acetelli's paintings may go through multiple incarnations with the past lying just beneath the surface, adding to its overall dimension and depth. In his work, the artist seeks to evoke a feeling rather than depict a defined image. He uses primarily oils and encaustics to create thickly layered canvases with emotive bursts of color. His works show a world where imagination and reality come together. His original artworks have been exhibited and treasured by celebrities and notable art collectors worldwide.
Mark Acetelli was born in Detroit and resides in Los Angeles. His mother was a painter and some of his earliest memories were the smell of turpentine and oil paints. Growing up surrounded by his mother’s work, she inspired and encouraged him to become an artist.
Acetelli’s paintings exist to awaken your sense of exploration and adventure. The artist's use of shadow and silhouette creates a characteristic freedom from detailed representation and demands contemplative discovery. A chemistry of complexity and spontaneity, lyrical abstraction of frenzied marks, many of which previously lay hidden, buried beneath strong layers of self-taught expression. Those truths first obscured and then obvious, aim to engage the viewer, allowing them to explore their own interpretation. Reminiscent of Italian artist Alberto Giacometti's figures, Acetelli's figures take on a sculptural form within the minimal dimensionality of the surface of the canvas allowing the viewer to imagine movement, motion, and intention.
Acetelli’s paintings are inspired by the intensely personal introspective journey of life, from the ever-changing complexities of love, loss, birth, and death. The context of his work he describes as, “Absence and Presence” pertaining to how someone or something can be physically gone, but the essence still remains, thus capturing the physical mixed with spirituality on canvas. His application of paint is an extension of that thought process and contributes to an obscured emotional relationship within his work. He works by continuously building up and tearing down, layer upon layer, adding and subtracting. A visceral dance between the conscious and the unconscious until the emotion is expressed.
Acetelli’s paintings may go through multiple incarnations with the past lying just beneath the surface, adding to its overall dimension and depth. In his work, Acetelli seeks to evoke a feeling rather than depict a defined image. He uses primarily oils and encaustics to create thickly layered canvases with emotive bursts of color. Creating a world where imagination and reality come together.
Acetelli’s works can be found in many private and corporate collections around the world, including Bill Withers, Lisa Colburn, Colburn School of Music, Raytheon Corp, Universal Studios, Harbour City Hong Kong, Warner Brothers, Michael Jordan, Stuart Beattie, Claire Forlani, Camryn Manheim, and Francine Maisler.
EXHIBITIONS
2024- Wonzimer Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
- Solo show, “Mark Acetelli: Surface of a Dream”, Artplex Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
- Artplex Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
- Brouhah Art. Country & Urban, Virtual Exhibition, Hong Kong
- There From Hear, LA Artcore, Los Angeles, CA
- LA Art Fair, Bruce Lurie Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
- Morton Contemporary, Philadelphia, PA
- Bendix Night, Bendix Building, Los Angeles, CA
- High Beams, Bendix Building, Los Angeles, CA
- Art Palm Springs, Artspace Warehouse, CA
- Artspace Warehouse, Los Angeles, CA
- Mash Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
- Durden and Ray, Los Angeles, CA
- Barba Contemporary, Palm Springs, CA
- Casterline/Goodman Gallery, Nantucket, MA
- Art Crush, Casterline/Goodman Gallery, Aspen, CO
- TAG Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
- Castelli Artspace Gallery, Culver City, CA
- Casterline/Goodman Gallery, Aspen, CO
- AFF Hong Kong
- Artspace Warehouse, Los Angeles, CA
- Affordable Art Fair New York, NY
- Art Palm Springs, CA
- Affordable Art Fair Hong Kong
- Affordable Art Fair New York, NY
- Affordable Art Fair London, UK
- Art Palm Springs, CA
- Artspace Warehouse Los Angeles, CA
- Art Hamptons, NY
- Affordable Art Fair Hong Kong
- Affordable Art Fair New York, NY
- Palm Springs Fine Art Fair, CA
- Artspace Warehouse Los Angeles, CA
- Affordable Art Fair New York, NY
- Artspace Warehouse Los Angeles, CA
- Houston Fine Art Fair, TX
- Shadows and Light, Whole 9 Gallery, Culver City, CA
- Southside Art Gallery, Oxford, MS
- Affordable Art Fair New York, NY
- Art Palm Beach, MW Galleries, Chicago
- Affordable Art Fair Los Angeles, CA
- San Diego Fine Art Fair, Artspace Warehouse, CA
- Artspace Warehouse, Los Angeles, CA
- David Perry Smith Gallery, Memphis, TN
- Art Hamptons Museum Works Gallery, Chicago
- Art Chicago, Museum Works Gallery, Chicago
- Art San Francisco Museum Works Gallery, Chicago
- Gallery 825, GEM Group Show, Los Angeles, CA
- Art Aspen, Museum Works Gallery, Chicago
- Art London, Museum Works Gallery, Chicago
- In Art Santa Fe Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
- MW Galleries, Aspen, CO
- Gallery 9, Outside the Abstract, Culver City, CA
- The Art of Elysium, Pieces of Heaven, Los Angeles, CA
- Gallery 825, W. Hollywood, CA
- Los Angeles Art Association, GEM, W. Hollywood, CA
- Affordable Art Fair New York, NY
- Pipeline for a Cure, San Diego, CA
- Left Coast Galleries, Bulls & Matadors, Studio City, CA
- Pharmaka “The Man Show”, Los Angeles
- The Whole 9 Gallery, Fearless Leaders, Culver City, CA
- Left Coast Gallery, Studio City, CA
- MW Galleries, Aspen, CO
- Pharmaka, “Marks on Paper”, Los Angeles, CA
- Dale Youngman Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
- Left Coast Galleries, Studio City, CA
- Museum Works Gallery Aspen, CO
- Whole 9 Gallery, Culver City, CA
- Industry Color ”Young L.A.”, Culver City, CA
- New Mark Gallery, New York, NY
- Museum Work Gallery, Aspen, CO
- Lawrence Asher Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
- Whole 9 Gallery, Culver City, CA
- Bert Green, Los Angeles, CA
- Red Dot Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
- Pharmaka Gallery “L.A Ethos,” Los Angeles, CA
- Ambrogi/Castanier Gallery, Beverly Hills, CA
- Lurie Gallery, Studio City, CA
- Michael Josephs Gallery, Wilton Manors, FL
- Lurie Gallery, Studio City, CA
- Studio Blue Promotions, Brentwood, CA
- Melrose Lightspace Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
- Lurie Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
- New York International Art Expo, New York, NY
- Art Miami, Miami, FL
NOTABLE COLLECTORS
- Bill Withers
- Lisa Colburn
- Michael Jordan
- Camryn Manheim
- Francine Maisler
Mark Acetelli was born in Detroit and resides in Los Angeles. His mother was a painter and some of his earliest memories were the smell of turpentine and oil paints. Growing up surrounded by his mother’s work, she inspired and encouraged him to become an artist.
Acetelli’s paintings exist to awaken your sense of exploration and adventure. The artist's use of shadow and silhouette creates a characteristic freedom from detailed representation and demands contemplative discovery. A chemistry of complexity and spontaneity, lyrical abstraction of frenzied marks, many of which previously lay hidden, buried beneath strong layers of self-taught expression. Those truths first obscured and then obvious, aim to engage the viewer, allowing them to explore their own interpretation. Reminiscent of Italian artist Alberto Giacometti's figures, Acetelli's figures take on a sculptural form within the minimal dimensionality of the surface of the canvas allowing the viewer to imagine movement, motion, and intention.
Acetelli’s paintings are inspired by the intensely personal introspective journey of life, from the ever-changing complexities of love, loss, birth, and death. The context of his work he describes as, “Absence and Presence” pertaining to how someone or something can be physically gone, but the essence still remains, thus capturing the physical mixed with spirituality on canvas. His application of paint is an extension of that thought process and contributes to an obscured emotional relationship within his work. He works by continuously building up and tearing down, layer upon layer, adding and subtracting. A visceral dance between the conscious and the unconscious until the emotion is expressed.
Acetelli’s paintings may go through multiple incarnations with the past lying just beneath the surface, adding to its overall dimension and depth. In his work, Acetelli seeks to evoke a feeling rather than depict a defined image. He uses primarily oils and encaustics to create thickly layered canvases with emotive bursts of color. Creating a world where imagination and reality come together.
Acetelli’s works can be found in many private and corporate collections around the world, including Bill Withers, Lisa Colburn, Colburn School of Music, Raytheon Corp, Universal Studios, Harbour City Hong Kong, Warner Brothers, Michael Jordan, Stuart Beattie, Claire Forlani, Camryn Manheim, and Francine Maisler.
EXHIBITIONS
2024- Wonzimer Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
- Solo show, “Mark Acetelli: Surface of a Dream”, Artplex Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
- Artplex Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
- Brouhah Art. Country & Urban, Virtual Exhibition, Hong Kong
- There From Hear, LA Artcore, Los Angeles, CA
- LA Art Fair, Bruce Lurie Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
- Morton Contemporary, Philadelphia, PA
- Bendix Night, Bendix Building, Los Angeles, CA
- High Beams, Bendix Building, Los Angeles, CA
- Art Palm Springs, Artspace Warehouse, CA
- Artspace Warehouse, Los Angeles, CA
- Mash Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
- Durden and Ray, Los Angeles, CA
- Barba Contemporary, Palm Springs, CA
- Casterline/Goodman Gallery, Nantucket, MA
- Art Crush, Casterline/Goodman Gallery, Aspen, CO
- TAG Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
- Castelli Artspace Gallery, Culver City, CA
- Casterline/Goodman Gallery, Aspen, CO
- AFF Hong Kong
- Artspace Warehouse, Los Angeles, CA
- Affordable Art Fair New York, NY
- Art Palm Springs, CA
- Affordable Art Fair Hong Kong
- Affordable Art Fair New York, NY
- Affordable Art Fair London, UK
- Art Palm Springs, CA
- Artspace Warehouse Los Angeles, CA
- Art Hamptons, NY
- Affordable Art Fair Hong Kong
- Affordable Art Fair New York, NY
- Palm Springs Fine Art Fair, CA
- Artspace Warehouse Los Angeles, CA
- Affordable Art Fair New York, NY
- Artspace Warehouse Los Angeles, CA
- Houston Fine Art Fair, TX
- Shadows and Light, Whole 9 Gallery, Culver City, CA
- Southside Art Gallery, Oxford, MS
- Affordable Art Fair New York, NY
- Art Palm Beach, MW Galleries, Chicago
- Affordable Art Fair Los Angeles, CA
- San Diego Fine Art Fair, Artspace Warehouse, CA
- Artspace Warehouse, Los Angeles, CA
- David Perry Smith Gallery, Memphis, TN
- Art Hamptons Museum Works Gallery, Chicago
- Art Chicago, Museum Works Gallery, Chicago
- Art San Francisco Museum Works Gallery, Chicago
- Gallery 825, GEM Group Show, Los Angeles, CA
- Art Aspen, Museum Works Gallery, Chicago
- Art London, Museum Works Gallery, Chicago
- In Art Santa Fe Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
- MW Galleries, Aspen, CO
- Gallery 9, Outside the Abstract, Culver City, CA
- The Art of Elysium, Pieces of Heaven, Los Angeles, CA
- Gallery 825, W. Hollywood, CA
- Los Angeles Art Association, GEM, W. Hollywood, CA
- Affordable Art Fair New York, NY
- Pipeline for a Cure, San Diego, CA
- Left Coast Galleries, Bulls & Matadors, Studio City, CA
- Pharmaka “The Man Show”, Los Angeles
- The Whole 9 Gallery, Fearless Leaders, Culver City, CA
- Left Coast Gallery, Studio City, CA
- MW Galleries, Aspen, CO
- Pharmaka, “Marks on Paper”, Los Angeles, CA
- Dale Youngman Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
- Left Coast Galleries, Studio City, CA
- Museum Works Gallery Aspen, CO
- Whole 9 Gallery, Culver City, CA
- Industry Color ”Young L.A.”, Culver City, CA
- New Mark Gallery, New York, NY
- Museum Work Gallery, Aspen, CO
- Lawrence Asher Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
- Whole 9 Gallery, Culver City, CA
- Bert Green, Los Angeles, CA
- Red Dot Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
- Pharmaka Gallery “L.A Ethos,” Los Angeles, CA
- Ambrogi/Castanier Gallery, Beverly Hills, CA
- Lurie Gallery, Studio City, CA
- Michael Josephs Gallery, Wilton Manors, FL
- Lurie Gallery, Studio City, CA
- Studio Blue Promotions, Brentwood, CA
- Melrose Lightspace Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
- Lurie Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
- New York International Art Expo, New York, NY
- Art Miami, Miami, FL
NOTABLE COLLECTORS
- Bill Withers
- Lisa Colburn
- Michael Jordan
- Camryn Manheim
- Francine Maisler