Marc Standing’s iconic and haunting paintings have developed along a complex path of progression. Driven by an innate compulsion to paint, Standing explores tension felt by a personal search for identity, embodied by complexities felt by a mass consciousness – one which has been left with toxic traces of colonialism. This is what packs such a punch in Standing’s work – worldly layering of textures and imagery which evoke a surreal clarity in the viewer. Standing’s eerie yet peaceful paintings use a palette and compositional platform, mixed with sinister imagery to explore the tensions felt between light and dark; comfort and discomfort; a sense of belonging and a sense of void.

In describing his work, Standing says, “…in my current painting practice I have been using a lot of layering with the intention of barraging the viewer with a plethora of pictorial stimulus. Images derived from nature bleed and blend amongst more sinister imagery portraying a narrative that embraces the notion of both dreamscape and nightmare. Storytelling and imagination fuse into a visual mirage of wonderment.”

Standing holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honors) from the University of Cape Town, South Africa. His works have been shown extensively throughout Australia and have also been included in prominent Australian art prizes, as well as a commission work for The Groucho Club in London, a nominee for the Sovereign Asian Art Prize, and acquired by Artbank in Australia. His work has also been exhibited in New York, London, Holland, Hong Kong, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Standing has recently returned to Australia after several years living and working in Hong Kong.