Mark Maggiori (born June 16, 1977) is a

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

-American

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

graphic design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art that involves creating visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdisciplinary branch of ...

er,

draftsman A drafter (also draughtsman / draughtswoman in British and Commonwealth English, draftsman / draftswoman, drafting technician, or CAD technician in American and Canadian English) is an engineering technician who makes detailed technical drawi ...

, musician,

music video director A music video director is the head, overseer or facilitator of music video production. The director conceives of videos' artistic and dramatic aspects while instructing the musical act, technical crew, actors, models, and dancers. They may or ...

and lead vocalist of the

nu metal Nu metal (sometimes stylized as nü-metal, with a metal umlaut) is a subgenre of that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop music, hip hop, funk, industrial music, industrial, and grunge. Nu ...

band

Pleymo Pleymo is a French nu metal band formed by Mark Maggiori, Benoît Julliard, Fred Ceraudo, and Mathias Borronquet in Paris in 1997. Pleymo has sold over 100,000 albums to date. The band's name apparently originates from the lead singer once havin ...

. He is noted for paintings of American cowboys,

Native Americans Native Americans or Native American usually refers to Native Americans in the United States. Related terms and peoples include: Ethnic groups * Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the pre-Columbian peoples of North, South, and Central America ...

and the

American Southwest The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural list of regions of the United States, region of the United States that includes Arizona and New Mexico, along with adjacen ...

Early life and education

Maggiori was born in

Fontainebleau Fontainebleau ( , , ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Functional area (France), metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the Kilometre zero#France, centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a Subprefectures in Franc ...

in 1977. His father is

Robert Maggiori The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, praise, reno ...

, a French philosopher and journalist. At the age of 15, during his first visit to the United States, Maggiori went on a month-long road trip from New York City to San Francisco and visited several National Parks and other sites in the Southwestern United States. He later cited that trip as the beginning of his fascination with the Southwest and the inspiration behind his Western art. Maggiori graduated from the Académie Julian in Paris, where he was formally trained in academic drawing.

Music

From 1997 to 2007, Maggiori served as the lead vocalist, graphic designer, and music video director for his band, Pleymo. After signing with

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...

the band released four studio albums and toured internationally. Pleymo went on a hiatus after 2007, but reunited in 2018 with Maggiori once again providing lead vocals. After the reunion tour announcement for the Paris concert the band had sold out Le Trianon in Paris in less than a day.

List of Pleymo music videos

* 2002 : « New Wave » (''Episode 2 : Medecine Cake'') * 2002 : « United Nowhere » (''Episode 2 : Medecine Cake'') * 2003 : « Divine Excuse » (''Rock'') * 2004 : « Modaddiction » (''Rock'') * 2004 : « On ne changera rien » (''Rock éédition') * 2005 : « Rock » (''Rock'') * 2006 : « Adrenaline » (''Alphabet Prison'') * 2007 : « L'instinct et l'Envie » (''Alphabet Prison'')

Fine art

Maggiori began painting Western scenes in 2014. Since then, his works have been featured in ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'', ''Flaunt'', '' Art of the West'', ''

Southwest Art ''Southwest Art'' is a magazine published by Peak Media Properties that specializes in fine art depicting art of the American Southwest. History and profile ''Southwest Art'' was first published in May 1971. Initially, the magazine was based i ...

'', ''

Western Horseman ''Western Horseman'', a monthly magazine published by the magazine division of Morris Communications, was first published in January 1936. It features articles on Western riding, the breeding and care of horses, horse training and tack, and ranchi ...

'' and others. Maggiori has been noted in particular for the way he paints

cloud In meteorology, a cloud is an aerosol consisting of a visible mass of miniature liquid droplets, frozen crystals, or other particles, suspended in the atmosphere of a planetary body or similar space. Water or various other chemicals may ...

s in his landscape scenes, with Christopher Barker describing them as, "layered, textural monuments that both dwarf and magnify the subject with impossible detail." In addition to published features, Maggiori's paintings have been exhibited in the Briscoe Western Art Museum in

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

, the

Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art The Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art is an art museum in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The Eiteljorg houses an extensive collection of visual arts by indigenous peoples of the Americas as well as Western Ame ...

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

, the

Autry Museum of the American West The Autry Museum of the American West (Autry National Center) is a museum in Los Angeles, California, dedicated to exploring an inclusive history of the American West. Founded in 1988, the museum presents a wide range of exhibitions and pub ...

and the Maxwell Alexander Gallery in Los Angeles. In 2021, Maggiori exhibited paintings at the Couse-Sharp Historic Site in

Taos, New Mexico Taos () is a town in Taos County, New Mexico, Taos County, in the north-central region of New Mexico in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Initially founded in 1615, it was intermittently occupied until its formal establishment in 1795 by Santa Fe ...

. Beginning in 2017, he began to work ''

en plein air ''En plein air'' (; French language, French for 'outdoors'), or plein-air painting, is the act of painting outdoors. This method contrasts with studio painting or academic rules that might create a predetermined look. The theory of 'En plein ai ...

'' in New Mexico, Arizona and Wyoming. Maggiori's style and technique has drawn comparisons to Western artists

Frederic Remington Frederic Sackrider Remington (October 4, 1861 – December 26, 1909) was an American painter, illustrator, sculptor, and writer who specialized in the genre of Western American Art. His works are known for depicting the Western United Sta ...

and

Frank Tenney Johnson Frank Tenney Johnson (June 26, 1874 – January 1, 1939) was a painter of the Old American West, and he popularized a style of painting cowboys which became known as "The Johnson Moonlight Technique". ''Somewhere on the Range'' is an example ...

. Gallery owner Beau Alexander has noted that Maggiori's paintings are unique because of his outside perspective, having not grown up in the culture of the West and that " egoes to great lengths to have the cowboys depicted accurately...he will use colors and techniques learned in his photo and film days to create a more dramatic scene." Maggiori moved to

in 2019 and created the Taos Pueblo Art Education Fund in 2021, which raises money for the

Taos Day School Taos Day School is a Bureau of Indian Education (BIE)-operated K-8 school, located in Taos Pueblo, New Mexico. History In 1996 the school established a pen pal program for indigenous students worldwide, using the internet, in conjunction with t ...

's art programs.

Personal life

Mark Maggiori was married to French singer-songwriter

Aurélie Saada Aurélie (or its variants Aurelie or Aurelia) is a feminine name primarily occurring in France, deriving from the Latin Aurelius (golden) family. The masculine forms are Aurèle and Aurélien. The name was historically popular in France, and is c ...

from 2000 to 2012, with whom he has two children. In 2012 he married American artist and designer Petecia Le Fawnhawk. The couple have a daughter together.

References

External links

;Paintings *
The Monsoon Sun
' (2016 William B. Travis Awards for Patrons Choice) *
The Journey West
' (2017 Sam Houston Awards for Best Painting) *
West Side of the Rio Grande
' (2018 Don B. Huntley Spirit of the West Award) *
Purple Haze
' (2019 Don B. Huntley Spirit of the West Award) {{DEFAULTSORT:Maggiori, Mark 1977 births Artists of the American West People from Fontainebleau Artists from Île-de-France Académie Julian alumni 21st-century French painters 21st-century French male artists Living people