Mark Frygell is a former student of the Immersive Experience Creator education. He has been working as an artist, primarily as a painter, in Stockholm since 2016. Prior to that, he studied contemporary art in Umeå and Vienna for seven years. As an artist, Mark has become known for mixing art history with pop culture in his work in a colourful, grotesque manner. He has also spent a significant amount of time playing punk music and tattooing at a shop called Deepwood Tattoo in Stockholm.
– Nowadays, I paint to make a living and collaborate with different galleries around the world where I exhibit from time to time, most recently at Andréhn Schiptjenko in Stockholm where I have a show up at the moment, Marks says. My work has been shown at all kinds of places, notably Moderna Museet in Sweden 2018, which kind of marked the point where I could start making art without needing an extra source of income.
Mark Frygells exhibition at Andréhn Schiptjenko in Stockholm. Photo: Johan Österholm
– I have loved games all my life – videogames, but also roleplaying games. Ever since I was five, it has been a part of my day-to-day routine somehow. Mainly as a gamer at a younger age, but today my main interest in games and the culture around them lies in understanding the medium as an art form. I am constantly amazed by the capability of games to present imagined worlds, artistic styles and new game mechanics that reflect our time and age.
– Artists such as Ed Atkins have worked extensively with 3D modelling and animation in game engines, and American artist Jon Rafman has made dream diaries from Second Life and video installations with Max Payne michima. Swedish artist Magnus Wallin started making videos using the original Quake engine as early as the 90s! Inspired by this tradition, I decided I wanted to pivot into the medium of game engines to try to develop my artistic practice further. So far, I have made a couple of games and animations, and I absolutely love it. I suppose it is obvious, but when you work as a painter, it is amazing to transform your visual world into a three-dimensional thing. I tried my hand at sculpture and installation too, but using Blender, Unreal, and similar programs come very naturally to me and feels right for my artistic ideas.
– It has, most importantly, given me a kick in the butt to get started learning all these tools. I have very much appreciated the practical knowledge that comes with the program, as well as getting to know all different kinds of people with their own backgrounds and interests. It’s also been a lot of fun to have some time to think about and talk about games with other people who have a professional interest. I had a lot of fun making things, even if it was not always my own idea, as is usually the case for me. I mean, what’s not to like about the setup of an event planner, an artist, a game maker, a photobook designer, an advertiser, and a UX designer making a VR app about flowers together – what could go wrong?
– I think IEC is suitable for people that already know what they want to do but are not scared of trying different things. It comes with the program, dealing with XR, that the things you might be working on are not always artworks or games, or whatever you are specifically interested in. So, you need a little bit of patience, understanding of others and the will to collaborate. That being said, you can often steer the education toward your area of interest. Me, for example, have never had a solid interest in VR specifically but it was a good entry point to start working with the technologies surrounding games, apps, and interaction in general. I feel like I have been able to make the education a little bit into what I wanted, which would not be the case if I would study VFX artist, game artist or 3d modelling. The education is broader and more open-ended, and there is not always a clear job opening at the end of the tunnel. However, if you have a plan of your own, I think it can lead you to some pretty great places.
Photo: Johan Österholm
– Right now, my future plans are just to keep going. My latest exhibition closes in a week and then I will start working towards group exhibitions at Norrtälje Konsthall, Gustavsberg as well as Art Lab Gnesta in the early fall. For Art Lab Gnesta I am making a custom video work in unreal using textures scanned from a dead artist’s paintings so I’m excited to get back on the computer again! After those 2 shows have opened, I am leaving for a 3-month residency at a foundation at Greenpoint New York. I’m also always interested in getting my foot into some game production so if anyone reads this and likes what I do, please get in touch!
– Game industry, get in touch and we will make a weird ass game!
All photos: Johan Österholm.
Here’s a taste of Mark Frygell’s exhibition at Andréhn Schiptjenko in Stockholm:
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