Mark Pettegrow

"The forms in my sculpture are often derived from the garden: calyx, shell and leaf forms, and from natural history: human anatomy, the wave movement in liquids, crystalline structure and elemental geometry. I combine these disparate forms with my love of mythology, history, architecture and art to try to create formal structures that are poised somewhere on the edge between representation and abstraction."

Originally from Maine, Mark Pettegrow moved to Pennsylvania in 1987 to study sculpture at the University of Pennsylvania, where he received his MFA in 1990. He currently maintains his studio in Point Pleasant, Bucks County, and divides his time among sculpture commissions, residential and commercial design projects, and his ever-expanding perennial garden. Pettegrow's graceful abstract sculptures often refer to leaf forms from his garden, as well as winged figures from Egyptian art, and elemental wave movements in liquids and crystals. "I combine these geometrical forms with my love of mythology, history, and architecture," he says, "to try to create formal structures that are on the edge between realism and abstraction." A recurring theme in his project is "the idea of wanting to fly at the same time as being grounded."

Mark Pettegrow's work has been exhibited in the Skowhegan Retrospective at the Main Coast Artist Gallery in Rockport Maine, The New Hope Art Center, and in many regional and local shows. Pettegrow's work is in the permanent sculpture collection of the Michener Art Museum in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. In 2012, Mark Pettegrow was awarded First Place in Sculpture at the Art of the State exhibition at the State Museum of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg.

Education and Training
University of Maine, Bachelor of Arts, Fine Arts, Psychology, Orono, ME, 1981
Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Skowhegan, ME, Bernard Langlais Scholar, 1981
University of Pennsylvania, Master of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA, 1990

Teachers and Influences
Bob Engman, Neil Welliver, and Maury Lowe

Connection to Bucks County
Mark Pettegrow moved to Pennsylvania in 1987 to study with Bob Engman, Neil Welliver and Maury Lowe at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Fine Arts. He maintains a studio in Point Pleasant, Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

Colleagues and Affiliations:
Painters John Schmidtberger and Corinne Lalin. They became friends in graduate school, and after graduating formed their business called Brushworks, Inc.

Exhibitions
Equipoise: New Work from the Studio, Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, PA 2006
Bucks County Sculpture Invitational 2002, 2004
New Hope Sculpture Show, New Hope, PA 2003, 2004 - 2008
Buckingham Winery Sculpture Invitational, Buckingham, PA, 2004
Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, PA, 1998
Maine Coast Artist Invitational, Main Coast Art Gallery, Rockport, Maine, 1996
Bucks County Biennial, Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, PA, 1992
Bucks County Chamber Sculpture Invitational, Doylestown, PA, 1990, 1991
Phillips' Mill Annual Juried Exhibition, Solebury, PA, 1990, 1991, 1999, 2000 - 2008

Commissions and Collections
Dancing on the Edge, Carlyle Towers, Palisades Park, NJ, 3 monumental 10' Bronze figures, installed 2004
Arabesque, Collection of Mr. Harold Rose, Solebury, PA, 2004
Adament, Collection of Mr. Craig Blackman, Philadelphia, PA, 2003
Through Eyes of Wonder, Pine Run Elementary Commission, Chalfont, PA, 2002
Torkelsen Residence, Princeton, NJ, Custom carved glass, steel, and bronze staircase, carved class doors, 2001
Aspen, Sturm residence, Aspen, CO, custom abstract sculpture for great room, 2000
American Eagle, American Reinsurance Corporation, Princeton, NJ, bronze relief for chairman's boardroom, 2000
AON, Affinity Insurance Services, custom sculpture for main entrance foyer, 2000
Dr. Joseph Murphy residence, New Hope, PA, design for a custom classical pool house, 1995-1998
Panorama Restaurant, Philadelphia, PA, interior design and fabrication, 1993,1999, 2002
Philadelphia Fish and Co. Restaurant, Philadelphia, PA, sculptural installation, 1996
Canopus Series VI, Bronze abstract, collection of Mr. Ellis Alden, Woodside, CA
Canopus Series V, Bronze abstract, collection of Mrs. Elaine Gurland, Fort Lee, NJ
Pazzo Pazzo, site-specific sculptural installation, Morristown, NJ, 1995
Bruder children, Bronze portraits, private collection, Gladwyne, PA, 1994, 1995, 1999
Canopus Series II, Bronze abstract edition of 5, private collection #1, #2
Canopus Series XI, Bronze abstract edition of 5, private collections #'s1-4

Major Awards
Phillips' Mill Annual Juried Exhibition, Solebury, PA, Patrons' Prize, 1990
Bucks County Sculpture Invitational, Doylestown, PA, Byers Choice Award, 2002
First Place in Sculpture, Art of the State, State Museum of Pennsylvania, HArrisburg, PA 2012

Professional Experience
Mark Pettegrow Studio Ltd., 1995-present
Brushworks, Inc, New Hope, PA, 1989-2000
University of Pennsylvania, Graduate fellowship, 1988-1990