Painter, drawer and installation artist Mark Dean Veca (1963, Los Angeles) lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. Vecas painting is characterized by either willful psychedelic or nature and rococo wallpaper inspired patterns. Apparently unspectacular compositions in which Veca hides iconic characters from fairy tales, cartoons and the pop world. In this peculiar manner Mark Dean Veca combines conflictive elements from current history and nature.

His work has been shown at the PS1 / MoMA and several of his pieces are in possession of the prestigious Deutsche Bank collection. Reviews of Veca`s work have appeared in several publications such as The New York Times and the renowned art magazines Artforum and Flash Art. He received fellowships from The New York Foundation for the Arts twice as well as a grant from The Pollock-Krasner Foundation in 2006.

We caught Mark Dean Veca right before leaving to his next solo show at MILIEU Galerie / Artspace in Bern where he shows a new series of ink and acrilyc on panel.

Please introduce yourself to the readers out there.

MDV - My name is Mark Dean Veca, I currently live and work in Brooklyn, NY, with my wife, Lauren, my eight-year-old son, Luca, and our neurotic long-haired dachshund Chocolatte.

What are your influences?

MDV - As a kid I was fascinated with animated cartoons like Popeye, Warner Brothers, Disney, and comic books like MAD Magazine, Zippy the Pinhead, The Freak Brothers, and Heavy Metal. Also M.C. Escher and Skateboard Graphics.

When I discovered "fine art" in art school, I was drawn to artists like Ed Ruscha, Franz Kline, Warhol, and Philip Guston.

Lately I just absorb the world around me and try to filter it through my brain.