A Kansas City native, John Marak uses his background in painting, ceramics and graphic design to create aesthetic objects that look unearthed and already in the middle of processes of change. He is inspired by how nature over time transforms surfaces, colors, and forms.

In Marak‘s newest work, he continues to use materials, textures and forms drawn from the urban landscape, combining these with ethereal colors.

“Through a process of exploration and experimentation, I continue to discover new possibilities in raw industrial materials in the creation of my process-based abstract work. I use metal, plaster, cement and industrial glue in my sculptural paintings. I’m inspired by how nature over time transforms surfaces, colors and forms, creating a sense of history and the passing of time. My aesthetic is influenced by Wabi-sabi, a Japanese world view centered on the acceptance of transience and imperfection. The aesthetic is sometimes described as one of beauty that is “imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete”. Wabi connotes rustic simplicity, freshness or quietness. it can also refer to quirks and anomalies arising from the process of construction, which add uniqueness and elegance to the object. Sabi is beauty or serenity that comes with age, when the life of the object and its impermanence are evidenced in its patina and wear. – Marak