Mark Tan is a first-generation Canadian born and raised in Toronto by Filipino immigrants. He produces sculptures made from solid wood, found objects, and domestic construction building materials. His work expresses the emotional weight of displacement, disconnectedness, and the disillusionment of the American Dream, the gap between promise and reality for non-citizens.
He received his MFA in Furniture Design & Woodworking in the Craft/Material Studies program at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA. Tan has been the recipient of numerous grants and awards, including those from the Vermont Studio Center, Windgate Foundation, Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts, Anderson Ranch Arts Center, and the United States Artists Organization. His work has been exhibited internationally at exhibitions such as the Museum for Art in Wood, Philadelphia, PA Vision Gallery, in Chandler, AZ, The Arrowmont Gallery, in Knoxville, TN, Appalachian Center for Craft, in Smithville, TN, Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum, in Mesa, AZ, Hillyer Contemporary in Washington, D.C., Messler Gallery in Rockport, ME., Patterson-Appleton Gallery in Denton, TX., Fuller Craft Museum in Brockton, MA., Wharton Esherick Museum in Malvern, PA., Aspen Art Museum in Aspen, CO., and the DeLeon White Gallery at the Gladstone in Toronto, ON.
He is currently an Assistant Professor of Sculpture/Wood at Arizona State University.