Rossi, Mark Biography

Rossi, Mark Biography

Mark Rossi's continued interest in nature and art emerged at an early age. His love of the Southwest was deeply affected by his mother's Apache, Pueblo, and Spanish New Mexican heritage and the traditions she instilled. When Mark Rossi was ten, he began observing his father, prominent Western artist and former Gilcrease Museum of Art director, Paul Rossi, as he worked in his studio and foundry. The artists, conservators, and historians who frequented the museum inspired his artistic pursuit. Mark Rossi went on to study at the University of Tulsa and at the University of Arizona in Tucson.

Living for many years at the base of the magnificent Catalina Mountains north of Tucson, Mark Rossi studies desert plants and wildlife while hiking and riding horseback in the hills and ravines. In the tradition of early pilgrimages and journeys through the Southwest, his solitary travels are a spiritual meditation.

Mark Rossi knows the bajada well, that weathered slope at the foot of the mountains. In the rocky soil grow the saguaro cactus, palo verde, mesquite, and the most tenacious of all, the creosote bush. The earthy smell of creosote after a summer monsoon has no equal. Heard always are the songs of the white wing dove and Gamble's quail. Cottontails and blacktail jackrabbits, coyotes, white-tailed deer, and bighorn sheep graze the rocky slopes of Pusch Ridge.

With humility and humor, Mark Rossiallows the viewer to observe a quiet moment in the life of the subject he sculpts. "Although my work is realistic, I'm not interested in sculpting copies of nature. I've become more relaxed and learned to let the materials show me what they can do. I want to allow the form to emerge from the clay and metal. Cast bronze is an extremely plastic and durable a medium to work with." Run your hands over the surface ofMark Rossi's bronzes; the details made by his hands and tools are evident.

Education
  • University of Tulsa, College of Fine Arts
  • University of Arizona, College of Fine Arts
  • Agave Center, Tempe, AZ
  • Allegheny College, Pennsylvania
  • Arizona Bank, Tucson, Az
  • Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum, Tucson, AZ
  • Birds Fly South Project, Tubac, AZ
  • Bishop Kelley High School, Tulsa, Oklahoma
  • Catholic Diocese, Tucson, AZ
  • Chase Manhattan Bank, Tempe, Arizona
  • Chula Vista Nature Center, Chula Vista, California
  • Clements Center, Tucson, Arizona
  • Click-Tuttle Automotive Group, Southwestern United States
  • CNFI, Dallas, TX
  • Defenders of Wildlife, Washington DC
  • Dentsu Corporation, Tokyo, Japan
  • DC Ranch, Scottsdale, Arizona
  • DMB Associates, Phoenix, Arizona
  • Edwards Abstract, Texas
  • Frank Waters Foundation, Taos, New Mexico
  • Friends of the Middle Border Museum, Mitchell, South Dakota
  • Hilton El Conquistador, Oro Valley, AZ
  • Holy Trinity Monastery, St. David, Arizona
  • Hubbard Museum, Ann Stradling Collection, Ruidoso, NM
  • Hughes Aircraft, Tucson, Arizona
  • Irvine Museum, Newport Beach, California
  • Louisiana State University
  • McKale Center, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
  • Metropolitan Life, New York City, New York
  • Middle Border Museum, South Dakota
  • Minnesota Zoo
  • Mountain Oyster Club, Tucson, AZ
  • Philadelphia Zoo, Pennsylvania
  • Point Defiance Zoo Aquarium, Washington
  • Reid Park Zoo, Tucson, Arizona
  • Ronald Reagan Library, Simi Valley, California
  • Safeway Inc., Oro Valley, AZ
  • Saguaro High School, Tucson, Az
  • Salpointe High School, Tucson Arizona
  • San Diego Zoo, San Diego, California
  • Sheraton El Conquistador Hotel, Tucson, Arizona
  • Southwest Museum, Mesa, Arizona
  • Splendito, Oro Valley, AZ
  • Tanque Verde Ranch, Tucson, Arizona
  • Taos Public Library, Taos, New Mexico
  • The Oaks, San Juan Capistrano, California
  • The Pines, Pinetop, AZ
  • The Promenade, Scottsdale, Az
  • Three Allegenies Museum, Altoona, Pennsylvania
  • Tohono Chul Park, Tucson, AZ
  • Tucson Botanical Gardens, Tucson, Arizona
  • Tucson Museum of Art, AZ
  • Tucson Parks Foundation, Tucson, Arizona
  • Udall Park, Tucson, Arizona
  • University of Arizona Library, Special Collections, Tucson, AZ
  • University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico
  • University of Southern California, Powell Library, Los Angeles, CA
  • Westerner's International, Tucson, Arizona
  • Xerox Corporation, Tucson, AZ
  • 1969 - Oklahoma City Art Center, Oklahoma City, OK
  • 1975-Present - Annual Mountain Oyster Club Show, Tucson, AZ
  • 1976 - Nogales Art Center, Nogales, AZ
  • 1985-94 - Grasslands Exhibit, Empire Ranch, Sonoita, AZ
  • 1980, 1982 - One Man shows, Sheraton El Conquistador Hotel Mezzanine, Oro Valley, AZ
  • 1991 - International Audobon Society Conference, Tucson, AZ
  • 1992 - Two-person show with photographer John Cancalosi, Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Tucson, AZ
  • 1996 - Tohono Chul Group Show, Tucson, AZ
  • 1997 - Medicine Man Gallery, Tucson, AZ
  • 2000 - Featured Artist, Tucson Arts District, Outdoor Art Market Show
  • 2000 - Tohono Chul Group Show, Tucson, AZ
  • 2000 - Group Show, Casa De La Cultura, Instituto Sonorense De La Cultura, Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico
  • 2001 - Group Show, Arizona and Sonoran Artists, Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, Tucson, AZ
  • 2001 - Medicine Man Gallery, Tucson, AZ
  • 2007 - Arizona: A Millennium of Arizona Art, Mark Sublette Medicine Man Gallery, Tucson, AZ
  • 2017 - "25th Anniversary Celebration" Mark Sublette Medicine Man Gallery, Tucson, AZ