Mario Trejo’s works are accumulations of thousands of quickly drawn idiosyncratic marks. The amalgamations of hundreds of thousands of marks/circles/ lines in varying densities begin to resemble pocket Universes, each a relic of an arduous performance of repeated gestures.

 

Mario Trejo was raised in Saint Louis, Missouri and currently resides in Seattle, Washington. In 2005, he attended The Chicago Art Institute of Chicago, for his BFA. Mario received his Masters of Fine Arts from the San Francisco Art Institute and was chosen from numerous graduating Bay Area artists to be included in Art Benicia’s Cream from the Top Exhibition, moderated by Kenneth Baker. While attending the San Francisco Art Institute, Mario founded the Ways and Means Independent Student Exhibition in 2008. He formed a group of inspiring art majors, who collaborated with Mario to raise money, designed and produced catalogs and rented and renovated a space for a two month period. Also within that year, Trejo was awarded a Root Division Grant via Mildred Howard to build Birdhouses in the Cohen Alley, which were also shown at the luggage store annex. In 2008, Trejo interned for the curator, Lance Fung, at the Site Santa Fe 2008 Biennial, Lucky Number Seven. In 2009, Trejo was the exhibitions director for the Museum of Pocket Art. In 2011, Mario was on an experimental painting panel, moderated by William Conger. In 2012, Mario had two Museum shows, Elmhurst Art Museum and a two part show at the Illinois State Museum. Later that year, Mario became a global artist with the representation of Herringer Kiss Gallery of Calgary Canada and Koki Arts of Tokyo Japan. In 2015, Mario produced his first solo publication “Mario Trejo Paintings 2008-2015”, later that year he was shown at the Koki Arts Booth in the immensely popular Seattle Art Fair.

 

In 2016, Mario returned to the Seattle Art Fair represented by Koki Arts, a Tokyo based gallery. Founded by Paul G. Allen, the Seattle Art Fair is the most prestigious Northwestern art fair featuring local, regional, and international art galleries presenting top-tier modern and contemporary art. Mario’s, “ENGINE” was featured as the primary art piece representing Koki Arts in the Seattle Art Fair gallery catalog. From July-September 2016, Mario showed “Machine”, a newly acquired painting by the City of Seattle—Office of Arts and Culture, which was featured in the group, show “Cultural Perspectives Part II”.

 

In 2017, Mario will have his second solo show at the Herringer Kiss Gallery Entitled “Accumulated relics of arduous performances of repeated gestures.” He will be attending the opening which will be held June 22, 2017 in Calgary, Canada. Mario will have his third installment at the Seattle Art Fair with Koki Arts of Japan which is held August 3-6, 2017.

 

In late 2018, Mario will have his second solo show “The Idiosyncratic Discipline” at the Koki Arts Gallery in Tokyo, Japan and he is currently planning his second book titled “A Decade of Trejo’s”, a book which will showcase Mario’s finest paintings, sculptures, photos, theories, and actions from his entire ten years of his professional art career. A release date will be announced summer 2017. 

 

Education
2008 M.F.A., San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA
2005 B.F.A., School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL

Selected Exhibitions

 

2018      

Idiosyncratic Discipline, Koki Arts, Tokyo, Japan (forthcoming)

 

2017      

Seattle Art Fair, Koki Arts Booth, Seattle, WA (forthcoming)

Accumulated relics of arduous performances of repeated gestures, Herringer Kiss Gallery, Calgary, Canada

 

2016      

Art Kaohsiung, Koki Arts Booth, Taiwan

ART FAIR ASIA FUKUOKA, Koki Arts Booth, Kukuoka, Japan

Cultural Perspectives Part II, City of Seattle—Office of Arts and Culture, Seattle WA

Seattle Art Fair, Koki Arts Booth, Seattle, WA

Winter Show, Herringer Kiss Gallery, Calgary, Canada

 

2015       and / or, (Overview_2015), Bruno David Gallery, St. Louis, MO

Art:314, Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, St. Louis, MO

Seattle Art Fair, Koki Arts Booth, Seattle, WA

Summer Group Show, Herringer Kiss Gallery, Calgary, Canada

Young Art Taipei-Contemporary Art Fair, Koki Arts Booth, Taipei

Triumphant Nothing, Koki Arts, Tokyo, Japan

 

2014       OVERVIEW, Bruno David Gallery, St. Louis, MO

Summer Group Show, Roy Boyd Gallery, Chicago IL

Art:314, Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, St. Louis MO

In the Mix, K Imperial Fine Art, San Francisco, CA ArtMRKT, K Imperial Fine Art Booth, San Francisco, CA

2013

Winter Show Part II, Satoshi Koyama Gallery, Tokyo, Japan

Eternity-Mario Trejo, Koki Arts, Tokyo, Japan

Projected Edifices, Bruno David Gallery, Saint Louis, MO

2012
I DEFY YOU ALL, Elmhurst Art Museum, Elmhurst IL
Mystics: A Blessed Rage for Order Curated by Elizabeth Ferrer, Director of Contemporary Art,Bric ARts New York, NY.

Pulp II Works on Paper, Works with Paper, Maus Contemporary, Birmingham , AL
New Works, Koki Arts, Tokyo, Japan
UNEXPECTED PROTOCOL, New Work by Deborah Karpman and Mario Trejo, Maus Contemporary, Birmingham, AL
FOCUS FOUR, Illinois State Museum at Lockport, Lockport IL
CATHARSISM,Herringer Kiss Gallery, Calgary, AB, Canada

Line and Plane, McKenzie Fine Art, New York, NY

2011
Gallery Artist exhibition, Roy Boyd Gallery, Chicago, IL

Focus 4, University of Illinois Chicago Gallery, Chicago, IL

Is this Painting?  raumZWEI Gallery, Birmingham, AL

Centered, Bruno David Gallery, Saint Louis, MO

2010
Mario Trejo –Firat Erdim- New Works, Roy Boyd Gallery, Chicago, IL
Mario Trejo—New Works, The Metropolitan Gallery, Saint Louis, MO
In Space of Color, Chesterfield Arts, Saint Louis, MO

2009
Museum of Pocket Art Retrospective, The Lab, San Francisco, CA
New American Paintings, No 83, Juried by Lynne Warren, Curator of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL
Flat Files, Saint Louis Contemporary Art Museum, Saint Louis, MO
Mario Trejo: Catharsis, Bruno David Gallery, Saint Louis, MO

2008
Cream from The Top, Arts Benicia, Benicia, CA
Site Santa Fe Biennial 2008, Lucky Number Seven, collaboration with Scott Lyall, Site Santa Fe, Santa Fe, NM
Site Santa Fe Biennial 2008, Lucky Number Seven, collaboration with Hiroshi Fuji, Site Santa Fe, Santa Fe, NM
Vernissage, Fort Mason, San Francisco, CA
Ways and Means, W.A.M. Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Shelters I, Luggage Store Annex, San Francisco, CA
Shelters II, Luggage Store Annex, San Francisco, CA

2007
Entropic Wisdom, Diego Rivera Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Evolution The Exhibition, Swell Gallery, San Francisco, CA
One Million, Diego Rivera Gallery, San Francisco, CA

 

Selected Publications

 

2016

Seattle Art Fair Catalogue, Koki Arts Booth, Art Market Productions, Seattle, WA

2015

Mario Trejo Paintings 2008-2015, Essay by Meredith Tromble

2012

Mystics: A blessed rage for order, BRIC Rotunda Gallery, Brooklyn, NY, March 22-April 28,2012. Page 11

2010

Museum of Pocket Art 2009, Forward by Meredith Tromble

2009

Mario Trejo Paintings, Limited Edition Catalogue Saint Louis, MO

Mario Trejo Catharsis, Bruno David Gallery, Saint Louis, MO

New American Paintings 83 Midwest Edition, Open Studio Press. Jurried by Lynne Warren, Page 156-159 

2008

Shelters, Mildred Howard Part I and II, Essay by Mildred Howard, San Francisco CA

Ways and Means, Student designed, built and funded exhibition, San Francisco CA

San Francisco Art Institute Masters of Fine Arts Graduate Exhibition Catalogue 2008, Essay by Renee Green. San Francisco, CA