Anthony Mork, b. 1976, initially trained in carpentry, but realised by the time he was twenty-eight years old that he had a real affinity for mid-twentieth-century Abstract Expressionist paintings from America; thereafter, abstract gestural painting became his preferred metier although he has continued to work creatively in wood as a means of making a livelihood.
Born the second of three children in April 1976 in Sydney, Mork developed an interest in music and drawing at a young age. He embraced painting and especially sculpture in high school, carving a wooden surfboard for his major Year Twelve artwork. After high school, he became an accomplished carpenter through an apprenticeship and went on a number of home renovation shows on television, including Renovation Rescue . In addition to creating functional and sculptural pieces of one-off furniture, Mork also made jewellery out of wood for clients.
His life took a significant turn in 2004 when he focused on painting as a way to cope with personal challenges. During this period, Mork actively attended local art shows and began experimenting with integrating new and discarded materials from a local antique store into his painting, while also exploring design and composition. The unfinished smile (2006) is an example of such work and includes a wood base, mixed media, and overlays of oil stick and pencil.
Representatives from Melbourne’s Brunswick Street Gallery saw Mork’s website in 2005 and began representing him. They exhibited his work at Art Sydney, a show sponsored by the Australian , and Mork was successful in selling several paintings.
In 2006, he embarked on a trip to England with his then-partner and creative inspiration, Ella McInnes. He received formal art training at the Working Man’s College in Camden, completing courses in Art and Design. Mork has happily recalled this period as a time spent making art, meeting other artists, and gaining significant experience and skills. He was included in several group shows in London, most notably at the Brick Lane Gallery in East London before having to return to Sydney when his visa expired.
Back in Sydney, Mork continued his abstract painting, developing a more uniform approach that no longer incorporated found objects or mixed media. The Balding Rapunzel (2007) and Mangy sea dogs make disastrous lovers (2007) represent his shift to a more refined style that made use of design principles to strengthen line and composition. Although his formative experiences in art were in London, Mork has regarded his primary artistic influences as the American painters Jean-Michel Basquiat, Joan Mitchell, Robert Rauschenberg, and especially Cy Twombly. Allusions to Twombly’s naïve line markings can be seen in his work, Mr Grey gets stampy (2007).
Mork also resumed woodworking, creating sculpture and furniture for clients. This led him in 2010 to undertake a furniture-making course in Bowral, New South Wales, at the Sturt School for Wood in order to develop his skills in design, sculpture, and woodworking in general. Although he has continued his sculpture and woodwork, Mork has identified himself as an abstract painter.
