Mark Steven Greenfield’s work concerns itself with the complexities of the African American experience in contemporary society. The work often involves the interpretation of the process by which images are formed in the subconscious. His initial exploration of this theoretical phenomenon was realized in work which dealt with the psychological effect associated with African American stereotypes as characterized by blackface minstrelsy and black cartoon characters from the 1930’s and 40’s. His scope has broadened to include explorations of dualities in contemporary society with references to African spiritual practices of the Eguns and tropes that make use of both positive and negative energies.
A Los Angeles native, Greenfield studied under Charles White and John Riddle at Otis Art Institute in a program sponsored by the Golden State Life Insurance Company. He went on to receive his Bachelor’s degree in Art Education in 1973 from California State University, Long Beach. To support his ability to make his art, he held various positions as a visual display artist, a park director, a graphic design instructor, and a police artist before returning to school, graduating with Master of Fine Arts degree in painting and drawing from California State University, Los Angeles in 1987. Greenfield’s work has been exhibited extensively throughout the United States, Thailand, Italy, Brazil and South Korea.