Mark Demsteader (born 1963) is a British

figurative art Figurative art, sometimes written as figurativism, describes artwork (particularly paintings and sculptures) that is clearly derived from real object sources and so is, by definition, representational. The term is often in contrast to abstract a ...

ist. According to

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

, he is "one of Britain's best-selling figurative painters".

Biography

Born in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, his formative years were spent in Manchester’s

meat market A meat market is, traditionally, a marketplace where meat is sold, often by a butcher. It is a specialized wet market. The term is sometimes used to refer to a meat retail store or butcher's shop, in particular in North America. During the mid ...

where he would accompany his father (Harold Demsteader) to the family butchery and meat-packing business. Completely absorbed in the noise, smells, and sheer physicality of this environment, the young Mark learnt more about the structure of sinew, bone, and flesh—albeit livestock—than in any subsequent life drawing class. As a teenager passionate about pursuing an artistic career, Mark completed two foundation courses: first and at

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, wh ...

and then Rochdale Colleges of Art. However, in the 1980s

conceptual art Conceptual art, also referred to as conceptualism, is art in which the concept(s) or idea(s) involved in the work take precedence over traditional aesthetic, technical, and material concerns. Some works of conceptual art, sometimes called insta ...

dominated the mainstream market and there were little opportunities for a young figurative painter in Manchester. Forced to return to work at his father’s wholesale butchery, Mark continued to attend life classes throughout the next decade. In the early 1990s the family business fell victim to the recession and Mark was spurred on to find a commercial outlet for his work. To allow himself time to build a portfolio, he took a job as an art technician at an Oldham grammar school for another ten years. A short course at the

Slade School of Fine Art The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...

gave him an opportunity to tour the London galleries with his portfolio, but with Brit Art in the ascendency he found drawing out of favour. Eventually, a gallery in Blackheath offered him space in a mixed show where he sold six works. Mark gave notice at the grammar school soon after. In 1997 he became a founder member of the Neomodern Art Group founded by

Guy Denning Guy Denning (born 1965) is a self-taught English contemporary artist and painter based in France. He is the founder of the Neomodern group and part of the urban art scene in Bristol.Metcalfe, Anna"Off the streets" ''Financial Times'', 26 May 2 ...

. He has held an annual solo exhibition wit
Panter & Hall
in the

West End of London The West End of London (commonly referred to as the West End) is a district of Central London, west of the City of London and north of the River Thames, in which many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buil ...

since 2004. He is now represented in Daikanyama, Japan by Art Obsession. Notably, he produced a surreal portrait of musician

Anomie Belle Anomie Belle (an·o·me bel) is an American multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, songwriter, producer, and '' artivist'' from Seattle. Originally a classically-trained violinist and songwriter, Belle began writing and recording music as a child. Bell ...

for her album ''Flux'', and 34 paintings of ''

Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...

'' actress Emma Watson.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Demsteader, Mark 1963 births Living people 20th-century British painters British male painters 21st-century British painters 20th-century British male artists 21st-century British male artists