Samsara 2025: Interview with Mark Dendy, Fountain House Gallery Artist

 

Portrait of an Artist: The Buddha and His Many Incarnations

A Conversation with Mark Dendy

By Elizabeth Levine

When I first met artist and performer Mark Dendy, it was in his natural habitat: the bright, buzzing space of Fountain House Gallery during our annual Small Works Festival. We were two strangers drawn together by a painting—one of those serendipitous encounters that happen when art opens a door. Mark, surrounded by color and possibility, radiated the kind of curiosity and generosity that instantly signals here is someone who lives deeply in his work.

Mark has been a member of Fountain House for approximately three years;  his connection to the Gallery began with a referral from his therapist, who suggested Mark join the FH Studio when she learned Mark was an artist.  Since appearing in his first FH Exhibit in September of 2024, Mark has become one of the Gallery’s most prolific contributors and his paintings, listed in parenthesis have appeared in the following FH exhibitions Inside My Mind, (Brain Freeze), Biff! Bam! Pow! (Fascism Is the New Kryptonite,) Life’s a Party (The Soiree) Reinvention, (Circular Field) and the Gallery’s 25th Anniversary Exhibition (The Parlour). In just over two years, he has participated in seven shows and sold more than sixteen original works. I am the proud owner of one of them—Samsara (2025), a gift for my son Jake that continues to reveal new layers of meaning.

A Practice Rooted in Mindfulness

Mindfulness is one of the pervasive threads that runs through Mark’s work. “I am a secular Buddhist,” he told me. “I follow the philosophy, not the religion. Buddha is one of my heroes. In Buddhism, Samsara refers to the totality of human experience—joy and suffering, hatred/compassion, ignorance/wisdom, war and peace, light and shadow. It’s accepting the bad with the good, doing the best we can to live a productive, meaningful, compassionate life.”

His piece Samsara 2025 embodies this worldview. Built from photographs he shot in Times Square—“the epitome of Samsara”—the work layers digital collage with hand‑painted elements using a giclée technique. “I did this intuitively, not realizing there was a formal art movement in the 1970s using similar methods.” Mark explained

A Multidisciplinary Artist with numerous and diverse creative accomplishments

Mark’s artistic journey began long before he picked up a paintbrush. An OBIE and Bessie Award–winning choreographer, playwright, and performer, he spent forty years shaping avant‑garde theater, dance, opera, and film. His film The Age of Anxiety screened at thirty‑five international festivals. But the pandemic shifted his priorities. “I realized I couldn’t maintain that level of involvement, especially the fundraising,” he said. “I wanted something different—a solitary artistic practice.” Visual art became that sanctuary.

A Childlike Curiosity in His Approach to Creating Unique Works of Art

“When I first started drawing, the instructor told us to draw like we did as children. So, I would close my eyes, switch hands, let the line go crooked. It wasn’t about the finished product. It was about freedom.” That freedom is evident in works like Ladybug Dance, created during an animal‑themed session at the Fountain House Silver Center. “I closed my eyes and kept making dots,” Mark laughed. “I do these chance but controlled experiments.”

A Volunteer, Advocate, and Community Builder

Mark’s presence at Fountain House extends far beyond his artwork. He volunteers regularly—at the Fountain House Gallery and participates in weekly workshops. At least once a month he works at the Gallery and loves meeting people so that visitors can better understand their art.  This commitment is both artistic and communal. “I enjoy working in a group,” he said. “There are so many wonderfully talented and dedicated artists in the community. They inspire me and keep me on my toes.” Equally of note is his upcoming participation in a joint venture with Bethlem Gallery in the United Kingdom and will contribute to this exhibition in early spring, 2026.

A Fluid, Expansive Art Practice that Incorporates The Political

Art is not just a craft for Mark—it is a stabilizing force. Along with his two beloved dogs, Ruby and Margot, Mark finds peace and healing in the creative process, incorporating the sinister realities of the current state with the world with beautiful, colorful images of the Buddha-contrasting the lightness of mindfulness with the darkness of the political climate. Certain works are deliberately political in nature. For example, Mark singled out one of his paintings in the Small Works exhibit “Boy KISS Boy”, explaining that he felt this image was important in a moment in history when LGBTQ rights are under attack.

The Many Incarnations of Mark Dendy

Created in an atmosphere of play and inquiry, Mark Dendy's process is an investigation into story and color - loaded with psychological imagery. Their work is infused with theatricality and movement where social commentary lurks just beneath the surface. Juxtaposing multiple styles, mediums and perspectives; abstraction, neo surrealism and pop art meet in a neon lit alley. For Mark Dendy is an artist of movement—whether onstage, on canvas, or in the digital realm. His work is theatrical, political, spiritual, and deeply human. It is shaped by mindfulness, animated by play, and grounded in a lifetime of creative exploration.

In his hands, art becomes a form of enlightenment—not a destination, but a journey through every shade of experience. A neon‑lit alley where the Buddha meets pop culture, memory, and the childlike joy of making marks in the dark.