Past Exhibitions

Hagio- from a Greek word meaning "saintly" or "holy," and -graphy from the Greek word graphein meaning "to write."

With a career spanning over five decades, Mark Steven Greenfield has dedicated himself to addressing racial inequities and exploring the diverse experiences of Black Americans. Mark Steven Greenfield: Hagiography showcases selected paintings from the artist's Black Madonna and Halo series, highlighting his adeptness in examining Black identity, reframing historical narratives, and celebrating Black femininity. Inspired by traditional Byzantine iconography, Greenfield imbues his subjects with the reverence and attention typically reserved for religious figures, effectively recording the history of leaders, folk heroes, and everyday individuals who have often been overlooked from the prevailing record. Each artwork in this exhibition carries deep layers of meaning, inviting viewers to reflect on their own assumptions and biases while gaining a greater understanding and appreciation for the rich tapestry of Black experiences and narratives.

About the Artist

Mark Steven Greenfield is a native Angeleno and the son of one of the famed Tuskegee Airmen. He spent many of his early years abroad living on air bases from Taiwan to Germany, returning to Los Angeles at age 10. As a student at Los Angeles High School, he studied under the revered artist John Riddle, who quickly noted Greenfield's talent and recognized his vulnerability to the negative influences and dangers confronting most African American youth at the time. Riddle once remarked, "You could be a pretty good artist…. if you live that long". This simple admonition got Mark's attention and set him on a course that would define his life.

Greenfield's early development as an artist was accelerated through a series of Saturday art classes at Otis Art Institute taught by Riddle, Charles White, and Bill Pajaud. He frequented Brockman Gallery and Gallery Tanner where he met Samella Lewis, Betye Saar, Noah Purifoy, and John Outterbridge, whom he considers mentors. He received a bachelor's in art education from California State University, Long Beach, in 1973 and a Master of Fine Arts in painting and drawing from California State University, Los Angeles, in 1987.

Greenfield's works have been exhibited extensively throughout the United States, most notably at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia, the California African American Museum, which presented a comprehensive survey of his work in 2014, and the Museum of Art and History twenty-year retrospective in 2021. Internationally he has exhibited at the Chiang Mai Art Museum in Thailand, at Art 1307 Villa Donato in Naples, Italy; the Blue Roof Museum in Chengdu, PRC; 1333 Arts, Tokyo, Japan; and the Gang Dong Arts Center in Seoul, South Korea.

Greenfield lives in Altadena, California and is represented by the William Turner Gallery.

Learn more: Hagiography Education Booklet

Fall Exhibition Season presented by Laura and John Gamble

Image: Mark Steven Greenfield (b. 1951), Saint Moses the Black, 2020, acrylic and gold leaf on wood panel, 36 x 24 in. Courtesy of William Turner Gallery, Santa Monica, CA.