Los Angeles, CA, United States

Marc Raphael

About Marc Raphael Los Angeles-based abstract artist Marc Raphael creates what critics have called "jazz-like improvisations on canvas"—vibrant, energetic works that capture the spontaneity of the creative moment. Drawing inspiration from the New York School masters, particularly Jackson Pollock, Raphael has developed a distinctive action painting style that's entirely his own. But Marc's path to the canvas wasn't conventional. For 25 years, he shaped young minds as a K-12 teacher while nurturing his passion for abstract expressionism on the side. In 2020, he made a bold decision: to pursue his art full-time. His philosophy? "It's never too late to follow your dream." What followed was a period of intensive growth. Working from a garage studio, Marc immersed himself in mastering his materials—acrylics, latex, mediums, and canvas—developing the techniques that would define his signature style. The results spoke for themselves, and he soon moved to the prestigious Hawthorne Arts Complex, where he found himself surrounded by LA's thriving creative community. This shift proved transformative. Within the HAC environment, Marc's practice evolved rapidly: his canvases grew larger, his technique more confident, his vision more refined. He established relationships with galleries, built a presence on leading art platforms, and caught the attention of Artspace Warehouse, who now represent his work to collectors nationally and internationally. Today, Marc works primarily from his Mid-Wilshire studio, just blocks from LACMA, with a second creative space in downtown San Pedro's established arts district. His colorful, eye-catching abstracts have found homes with collectors who appreciate both the emotional immediacy of his work and the compelling story behind the artist. For Marc, each painting is an act of self-discovery—the artist as both source and subject. His work invites viewers into that same process of exploration, where bold gestures and vibrant color fields create moments of connection and joy.

Abstract ArtExpressionismAcrylic PaintMixed Media Art

“Los Angeles abstract artist Marc Raphael creates what can only be described as "jazz-like improvisations on canvas"—vibrant explosions of color and movement that capture something essential about the creative act itself. Rooted in the New York School tradition yet unmistakably contemporary, his work is the visual expression of an artist who dared to follow his dream later in life—and discovered his truest voice in the process.”
Marc Raphael, Artist Statement

Process

THE PAINTING PROCESS Marc Raphael is an action painter working in the tradition of Abstract Expressionism, driven above all by the raw, physical experience of making art. He begins each work by spreading unstretched canvas flat on the floor, then moves into it intuitively — no plan, no predetermined outcome. What emerges is entirely open. It's that openness that draws him in: the chance to learn something unexpected, to grow through the process, to follow a painting wherever it chooses to go. "I placed the canvas flat on the floor and moved around it, dripping and flinging paint as Pollock did. I was hooked immediately." Painting, for Marc, is a full-body act. His athletic background shapes the way he works — circling the canvas, leaning into each gesture, using the sweep of his shoulder and the extension of his arm to swirl, fling, and drip paint across the surface. There's a practiced grace to it, a rhythm that feels less like technique and more like movement. "Jazz-like improvisations on canvas." The results are large, vibrant works layered with curvilinear lines, swirls, splatters, and drips — forms that suggest webs, galaxies, and organic life in motion. (Yes, that too. Go ahead and look.) At the heart of it all, Raphael paints to know himself. He is both the source and the subject — not documenting the external world, but mapping an internal one. Working in a kind of free association, he holds two things in tension at once: the spontaneous flow of thought and feeling, and a conscious attention to line, color, texture, and composition. That interplay — between control and surrender, intention and impulse — is what he calls a jazz-like improvisation on canvas.

Abstract ArtExpressionismAcrylic PaintMixed Media ArtAbstract ArtExpressionismAcrylic PaintMixed Media ArtAbstract ArtExpressionismAcrylic PaintMixed Media Art

Exhibitions

2024solo

Start Up Art Fair, Los Angeles

2023group

The Other Art Fair, Los Angeles

Gallery Representation

Artspace Warehouse

Los Angeles, California