"All Of Us" by Mark Fleuridor for the Holidays

“All Of Us” (2020) by Mark Fleuridor

Portrait of the artist

For the past three years we have been commissioning and collaborating with Miami-based artists on holiday cards. Inspired by the Museum of Modern Art's Junior Council, who in 1954 initiated a holiday card program to help foster a common interest in the arts, our hope at Commissioner is to introduce local artists whose works invite curiosity, creativity and community.

This year, we turned to Mark Fleuridor and his representations of family, relationships and culture. A Haitian-American artist born and raised in Miami, Mark explores personal history and familial experiences through painting, performance, quilting and collage.

In the digital collage All of Us (pictured above), we learn about the vibrant characters in Mark’s life, and the rituals and objects that shape their everyday. Hear more from the artist in this brief Q & A:

CMXNR: All Of Us is inspired by familial experiences and cultural identity. Could you share more about this work?

Mark: The artwork All of Us is a portrait of my siblings and I as children. I was looking for a family photo of all of my siblings as children, but there are no photos of that. So I decided to make it myself. This piece is honestly me remembering the times as a child in a nostalgic way. While making it I would think about how we all grew up in the same house, but came out as totally different people.

Can you describe your practice to us and share about how you draw on personal experiences?

My art practice has changed over time and probably will change in the future. For now it has been focused on depicting forms of love and protection. This stems from the genuine love I have for my family, but also the fear of anything negative happening to them.

Why are you drawn to the mediums and methods of collage, painting, quilting and performance?

It is important for me to be able to learn while making art. Every time I create, some of my main goals are experimenting and learning. Sometimes I learn a new technique while other times I can have a resolution with a memory. It is also just very fun to work with different mediums and techniques.

What’s next?

I'm really excited for my upcoming projects, which include public art murals with Fringe Projects Miami. I am also making multiple quilts that I am excited to share in 2021. (Ed note: we can’t wait!)

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Mark graduated from the Maryland Institute College of Art with a BFA in Painting. He has been awarded the Redbull Artist Grant, and is the recipient of the 2020 Oolite Arts Ellies Awards for “Being Held”, a project to create a public mural in Miami that counters uncertain times by focusing on people, families and their love for each other. He has held artist residencies at Vermont Studio Center and the Oxbow Artist Residency in Michigan, and is currently an artist-in-residence at Oolite Arts in Miami. Mark has exhibited in group shows, including Idioms and Taxonomies at Oolite Arts; We Are One at Creative Alliance in Baltimore; and B_19 (Best of Baltimore 2019) at Baltimore City Hall.

Learn more about Mark’s work at Cereus Art, Markfleuridor.com or by following his work on Instagram @Mark_Fleuridor.

Check out last year’s holiday card by animation artist Isabela Dos Santos and 2018’s artwork by painter Jared McGriff. We love them all!