Biography
Mark Giaimo is a fine artist and art instructor based in Arlington, VA. His award-winning oil paintings mix the mundane with the sacred, kitsch with classical realism, posing questions on the meaning and value of humanist art and its role in contemporary society. He has participated in numerous group and solo shows throughout the greater DC area and New York City. His paintings are represented by Calloway Fine Art & Consultants in Georgetown, DC.
Artist Statement
My paintings mix the mundane with the sacred, kitsch with classical realism, that is both an homage and satire of the past and present. By employing 19th century painting techniques with contemporary pulp and graphic illustration, I create dichotomies both compositional and personal, posing questions on the value and meaning of humanist art and its role in contemporary society.
Curriculum Vitae
Gallery Representation:
Susan Calloway Fine Arts, Washington D.C., August 2015 - present
Fraser Gallery, Bethesda, MD, November, 2013 - 2015
Exhibits:
Juried Show: "52nd Annual Labor Day Art Show," Glen Echo Park, MD, September 1 -4, 2023
Group Show: "Yellow Barn Studio Instructor Exhibition," Glen Echo Park, MD, June 10 - June 25, 2023
Solo Exhibition: "Between Rock and a Hard Place," Susan Calloway Fine Arts, Washington, DC, Oct. 19 - Nov. 24, 2018
Solo Exhibition: "The Secret Life of Toys," Susan Calloway Fine Arts, Washington, DC, January 22 - Feb. 20, 2016
Affordable Art Fair, NYC, March, 2015
"Representing: New paintings by Mark Giaimo and Eric Wesbrook," Writer's Center of Bethesda, MD, Oct. 18, 2014 - Jan. 5, 2015.
Affordable Art Fair, NYC, April, 2014
2012 Year-End Group Show, Plan B Gallery, Washington DC, November 23 - December 24, 2012.
Toy Lifes, Studio Gallery, Washington DC, August 18 - August 30, 2010
All Arlington Art Salon, Arlington, VA, July 31 - September 13, 2008. Non-juried exhibition.
Icosahedron, Post-Baccalaureate Group Exhibition, Maryland Institute College of Art, January 26 - February 11, 2007, Baltimore, MD
Juried shows:
Group Show: "Recollection: Celebrating 15 Years of Exhibitions at BlackRock Center for the Arts", Germantown, MD. Sept. 8 - Oct. 13, 2018
AWSome Call for Art. (Amazon Web Services Exhibit), August, 2015. "Gossips" selected for purchase and permanent display in the offices of Amazon Web Services, Herndon, VA.
2014 Expressions Portrait Competition, Herndon ArtSpace, October5 - Nov. 3, 2014, finalist
"Aftermath" selected for Juried Exhibition, "Flesh and Bone," at HIllyer Art Space, July, 2014
2013 Expressions Portrait Competition, Herndon ArtSpace, October5 - Nov. 3, 2013 (Awarded First Honorable Mention)
AWSome Call for Art. (Amazon Web Services Exhibit), August, 2013. Flying and Philosphy (An Allegory) selected for purchase and permanent display in the offices of Amazon Web Services, Herndon, VA.
2012 Expressions Portrait Competition, Herndon ArtSpace, November 10 - Dec. 9, 2012 (Awarded first place)
"Playful" Group Show, BlackRock Center for the Arts, Germantown, MD, June 20 - July21, 2012
First Friday Art Series, Studio Gallery, Washington DC, February, 2010
Awards:
"Knowledge and Wisdom," 10th place award, National Portrait Society Members-Only Still Life Category, 2015.
"Greg", Finalist, 2014 Expressions Portrait Competition, Herndon, VA, 2014
"The Fan," First Honorable mention, 2013 Expressions Portrait Competition, Herndon, VA, 2013
"Portrait of Marlis," First Place, 2012 Expressions Portrait Competition, Herndon, VA, 2012
Maryland Institute College of Art, Awarded scholarship for graduate school, 2006
Affiliation:
Copyist, National Gallery of Art, Washington DC, 2018 - present.
Exhibiting Artist, Art League of Virginia, 2019
Member, Portrait Society of America, 2015 - 2017
Reeb Hall Artists Studio, Artist and Press Officer, Arlington, VA, 2008 - 2011.
Classes and apprenticeships:
The Painted Portrait: Children and Young Adults with Rob Liberace, Art League of Virginia, Dec, 2013.
Classical Portrait Painting Workshop, Rick Weaver, Art League of Virginia, June, 2013
Figure and portrait painting, Danni Dawson, Art League of Virginia, 2011-2012
Artist Assistant, Benjamin Edwards Washington, DC, 2007 - 2008
“Democracity” series, Tomio Koyama Gallery, Toykyo, 2008
“The Triumph of Democracy,”Mural for lobby of 2101 L Street NW, Washington, D.C., 2008
Artist Assistant, Gary Goldberg Fine Arts, Washington, DC, 2007 - 2008
The Maryland Institute College of Art, (Baltimore, MD), Post-baccalaureate graduate candidate, painting, 2006
Figure painting and portrait workshop with Rob Liberace, Art League of Virginia, 2005
Figure painting with Natasha Mokina, Bethesda, MD, 2005
Figure and portrait painting, Ellen Zelano, Corcoran College of Art + Design, Washington, DC, 2004-2005
Intermediate Drawing, Judy Southerland, Corcoran College of Art + Design, Washington, DC, Fall, 2003