When Mr. Harari was an architect in New York and New Jersey from 1983 – 2003, he wasn’t thinking about a fine art practice. Until he was. When he turned to create fine art, he explored painting, drawing, printmaking, and photography. In 2009, after initial hesitations about digital photography, he jumped in and found more than expected. “The digital revolution intimidated me at first. I intended to use the camera to support my pursuit of painting, to aid my understanding of color as a painter rather than an architect. The act of photographing, again, opened me to the magic power of place and the fleeting mysteries of the moment. The camera is a wonderful tool to heighten perception and awareness – the act of focus. City, street, timeless ruin, sunlit stream, fleeting, momentary shadows, and reflections are all there for me,” said Mark.
In 2012, he started painting and drawing on translucent and transparent substrates to explore how the images could interact with their surroundings.
He then experimented with printing digital images on wood veneer, various papers, metal, and translucent and transparent films and panels.
He learned that the original’s personality could be explored through these various surfaces. The digital path offered additional options for image making.
The Inkjet Mylar prints mounted at the atrium glass windows at The Oyster Point Hotel have been developed to provide a high degree of transparency while allowing the personality of the images to respond to the ever-changing natural and interior lighting conditions on any given day. As with glass windows, day and night alter the image, the view through the atrium glass, and the degree of view or reflection. The time of day and sky conditions likewise influence the images. “A certain serendipity extends my predilection for abstract image-making. I have found that painting and drawing can become part of a process, not only an end in themselves. Placing the painted or drawn image on the glass frees the image and the viewer from the expected relationship of a work mounted and framed on a wall,” said Mr. Harari.
“The idea of “Painting Without Walls” emerged from the opportunity to mount these images at The Oyster Point Hotel. It has been an exciting exploration for me.,” added Mr. Harari.
Education
Mark was a Registered Architect in New York and New Jersey from 1983 to 2003. He received his Bachelor of Architecture from Pennsylvania State University in 1973. He studied at the Art Students League in New York from 2006 to 2015 and at the Center for Photography in Woodstock, NY from 2008 to 2010.
Exhibitions
- December 2023. Trenton City Museum, Group show, “NEXT: Reimaging the Future
- Fall 2023. Council of the Arts, Princeton
- Fall 2019. Woodstock Museum of Art, Group Show
- 2015. Art Students League Members Show. (2008-2015)
- 2014. Materials Matter Show, Chicago Merchandise Mart
Upcoming Residency
Winter 2025, Lucid Foundation, Northern California.
