Mark Cowden

Mark Cowden likes to reinvent himself every few years.

Over the years he has worked in finance, as a pilot, owned a graphic design agency, and as brand manager for one of NZ’s fast growing start-ups. In his latest iteration as an artist he finds reinvention on an almost daily basis as he applies new and different ideas to his art.

Mark loves to travel, seeking exposure to new experiences, new ways of thinking, and to see the world from different angles. It was while travelling in Europe that Mark found the inspiration that ultimately (nearly 20 yrs later) morphed in to his Multiplane art. In his art he often uses the combined experiences and learnings from the various parts of his diverse background to create new and unique works.

Multiplane is the name that Mark Cowden uses to describe his art form. Multiplanes change depending on the angle they are viewed from. Mark likes to involve the viewer actively when they are looking at his art, and he believes this interaction helps them to actually “see” the art rather than just passively looking at it.

Good locations for these works are along walls that people walk past and therefore get the best effect of the changing image. Lighting can also affect the art and different intensities of the light from either side can interact with the image that is perceived. This relationship of windows and lights is something that the viewer can experiment with when choosing where to hang a work.

Mark is also a fan of moving art works to different locations every so often as it makes us “see” them again in a new light, often literally.