Mark Castle's work is influenced by astronomy and the cosmos. As well as an awestruck admiration of beauty, this subject matter serves as a point of personal scientific research, and it is at this amalgamation that his practise exists.
Castle aims to produce a natural representation of the cosmos, however due to the nature of space, the result can often seem free of reference and subject matter, blurring the line between representation and abstraction. Touching on the sublime and magisterial gaze, which shape our very notions of the cosmos, his works evoke exploration and the frontier. He aims to present the viewer with a universe that is both overwhelming and within our grasp.
Castle exploits the versatility of oil paint in representing different areas of space. From numerous thin dark layers for the eternal expanse of nothingness to the myriad of bright white specs for dense congested star fields; coloured glazes for translucent nebulous clouds and buttery slathers of rolling stormy cloud bands on giant gaseous planets. His works encompass striking and familiar representations of space as well as the more abstract inscrutable realms.
