Hierographix

Bronze
38" 2010

Reach
42" Bronze
2012

Matador's Lament
Bronze 25"
2010

Between the Pillars
Bronze 19"

Fallen Angel

Bronze 22"
2010

"The Queue"
Bronze
26"
2001

The Lotus Eater
Bronze 32"
2009

Torso

Bronze 2009

22"

"The Spectators"
Bronze
26"
2001

"Burden"

Bronze 17"

2002

"Crowd Scene"
Bronze 12"
2008
(maquette)

"Crowd Scene 2"
Bronze 22"
2008

Temple Keeper 2

Bronze   (unique)

22"          2008

Temple Keeper (enlargement)
42" Bronze 2011

"Temple Keeper"
  Bronze
  24"
 2002

Power Brokers 18"

"20th Century Idol II"
Bronze
2007
36"

"Sounding Brass"
Bronze
18"
1998

"20th Century Gothic"
Bronze
36"
1998

"Triad"
Bronze 18"
2008

"From The Clothes Hangs The Man"
Bronze
"22"
2001

"9 AM, A Train"
Bronze
22"
2000

"Wall"
 Bronze
 "26"
 2000

"Man Losing Everything"
Bronze
22"
1998

Against a Wall
Bronze and Steel
2008

Mark Bava
w/installation of "The Last Supper"

"The Committee"
Bronze
26"
1998

"The Judges"
Bronze
22"
2000

"Mark Bava conveys in his bronzes the complexities within the relationships between modern man and society. Uniquely using space and mass, Bava gives a satirical glimpse into the contemporary roles we play. Through his figures Bava reveals the necessity of interdependence while reminding the viewer of the vitality of individuality."

-Victoria Blazanach

The Sirens

"Odysseus"
Bronze
32"
1998

"Waiting for Odysseus"
Bronze
29"
1998

"Sparten"
Bronze
28"
1999

"Minotaur"
Bronze
28"
1998

"Pillar of Salt"
Bronze
22"
1991

"Icarus"
Bronze
"21"
1997

The Ferryman"
Bronze
45"
1992

"Pandora"
Bronze
42"
1991

Daedalus
Bronze 20"
1996

"Hermes"
Bronze
28"
1999

"Torn"
Bronze
22"
1996

"Matador 2"
Bronze
26"
1996

"Walking Matador 2"
Bronze
68"
1997

Taurus 2011 Bronze 9 x 18"

"Walking Matador"
Bronze
36"
1996

About Mark Bava

“The first thing…is to get a respectable suit”
- Jason Robard, A Thousand Clowns

Mark Bava is noted for bronze sculptures, which though clearly figurative in nature, are abstracted figures rather than realist representations. The surfaces of his sculptures are chipped, hacked and left with tool marks to emphasize textures.

His human figures, even those that are sculpted with a second figure, exist independently of anyone around them. Iconic in nature, the figure is isolated and exemplified while typifying human character or social behavior.

Since childhood Bava took an interest in art, producing drawings and paintings at a very early age under the tutelage of his mother who was an Impressionistic painter He attended art school in the mid-seventies at CSUS Stanislaus which at the time was known for an art department that boasted a contemporary curriculum with many of the instructors from New York. Through the school's art and theatre program, winter semesters were spent in the city under department head and sculptor Ralf Parton. Studying in New York during that period of Abstract Expressionism had a major impact on his work today.

He sites Giacometti, Lynn Chadwick, Manuel Neri and Kenneth Armitage as influences. Mr. Bava also has considerable foundry and mold making experience. He is also well known for his productions of large multi-media events in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Artist Statement:

My work is more conceptual in that I focus on texture and body language over form and design to create a character commentary. I save my mistakes and sometimes utilize casting flaws. I try to give the figures an "iconic" quality or the look of primitive relics. I'm a history and sociology buff. I love old ruins and broken statuary. I get a lot of my ideas just looking at those forms and surfaces.

Galleries:
Current:
Gruen Gallery-Chicago, Ill

Renaissance Fine Arts, Baltimore, Bethesda, Md. and Haverford, Pa.

Sculpture Site/New Leaf Gallery, Sonoma, Ca
Christopher Hill Gallery, St Helena, Ca.
Gallery 21, Carmel, Ca.
Del Jou Art Group, Atlanta, Ga

Selected Solo Shows:
Braico Gallery, Myths and Modern Legends 1997
Sculpture House and Gardens, Recent Works 1998
Bradford/Smock Gallery, San Francisco, Ca. 1999
Alvarado Gallery/Monterey Conference Center, Meditations 2000
Pacific Grove Art Center, Urban Myths and Heros 1999

Mary Titus Gallery, Monterey, Ca 2009

Anon Salon Gallery, San Francisco, Ca. 2009
Gallery 21, Carmel, Ca Mark Bava New Works, 2010

Selected Group Shows:
Beux Arts, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Tx 2002
Pacific Grove Art Center, Pacific Grove, Ca
Pacific Rim Group, Monterey, Ca. 1996
Autumn Lights, Los Angeles, Ca. 2007
Anon Salon, San Francisco, Ca. 2004
Seaside City Hall, Seaside, Ca. 2001
Braico/Lewis Gallery, Carmel, Ca. 2004
Sunset Cultural Center, Carmel, Ca 2009

Associations:
LARABA (Los Angeles River Arts Business Association) - Board Member
Downtown Artist Project, Los Angeles - Member
Pacific Grove Art Center, Pacific Grove, Ca. - Board Member
Siggraph, Los Angeles, Ca. - Executive Council

Self Portrait

Distraction
Bronze
2001

Not seen closely: a pig on a porsche wearing a peter pan hat.

"Ascension"
Steel and Bronze
84"
2001

"Whole"
Bronze
16"
2001