Mark Cosimini grew up in the Dayton’s Bluff neighborhood on St. Paul’s East Side.

Mark attended the University of Minnesota from 1970 to 1974, where he double majored in Studio Arts (with an emphasis on drawing and painting) and Political Science. He attended William Mitchell College of Law and received a Juris Doctor degree in 1978. While in law school Mark was a cartoonist for the school paper. He also published humorous illustrations for Landlord/Tenant and Senior Issues legal booklets and cartoons for a Civil Discovery Manual. As an attorney Mark worked as a VISTA volunteer from 1979 to 1980, and the majority of his legal career was as an assistant Hennepin County Public Defender.

In 2011, Mark decided to return to his love of painting, working in oil and acrylics. He began painting still lifes, landscapes, and pet portraits. Since 2012 Mark has started creating a body of work titled “Altar Pieces.” These are semi abstract studies of portions of the interiors of churches. Mark says “These sacred spaces are filled with curves and angles and with the addition of color creates exciting movement and depth in paintings. The interiors inspire the artist in all of us to see the world in beautiful shapes and colors. We enter these spaces looking for meaning. It only seems appropriate to find pictorial meaning in the interpretation of their interiors.”

 

In 2016 he began the Social Landscapes series. These paintings focus on the less fortunate in society. Landscape painting may generally be defined as the depiction of natural scenery in art. Prior to the 17th century the landscape consisted of the scenery in the background of religious, mythological and historical paintings. In subsequent centuries the landscape became the subject. By the 19th century landscapes were part of the romantic movement in art. The landscape was seen as a manifestation of God's work and the forces of nature. In the 20th century landscapes grew to include urban and industrial scenes. Mark says “I like to humbly think my Social Landscapes combine the visions of the 19th and 20th century landscape”.

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2019 and 2020 brought about a series of abstract landscapes. Goals include incorporating the abstract landscapes into the Social Landscape series and starting a new series,  The Haves and Have Nots.