“One should not only photograph things for what they are but for what else they are.” ~ Minor White
“I believe the artist’s world is limitless. It can be found anywhere, far from where he lives or a few feet away. It is always on his doorstep.” ~ Paul Strand
“There is, to begin with, his evident compulsion to record what he saw as astonishing light.“ ~ Robert Adams, referring to Paul Strand..
Biography
Frank Mercado first acquired a camera so he could record the life and times of his young family, but soon he became interested in photography as a form of personal expression as well. Retired after a forty-year career as a software engineer and manager, he now pursues fine art photography and digital painting full time, having graduated summa cum laude with a BFA from the University of Colorado Denver in the spring of 2016.
Mercado’s work has been exhibited at galleries in the greater Denver Metro area. Mercado now resides in a suburb of Richmond, Virginia, where his work has been exhibited at galleries in the Richmond Metro area. He also writes about photography, and one of his essays was selected by jury for inclusion in Manifest Gallery’s fourth International Photography Annual (INPHA 4).
Artist’s Statement
My idea of fine art photography was formed by the works of the 20th century Modernist masters. I came to realize that there is a common denominator to what most intrigues me about their art: compositions consisting of striking shapes, interesting details, and graceful patterns of light and shadow. Two photographers of that era, Aaron Siskind and Minor White, particularly inform my work because like them I too am interested in investigating how photography, with its compositional powers of focus, framing, tonality control, and compression, can create an abstract image of formal beauty.
I look for such beauty in the ordinary objects and scenes all around us, searching for a striking image that may be hiding in plain sight, locked within or camouflaged by an ordinary or even ugly context. I endeavor to record details unseen by casual human vision, capture shades and colors unnoticed by the eye, block out distracting context, and reveal patterns, forms, and shapes that may be apparent only when three dimensions are compressed into two.
With my fine arts degree came an introduction to the other visual arts. One stood out to me: digital painting. This is an art form that combines the artisanal element of mark-making with digital darkroom skills. Photography allows me to use my eye and camera to find and capture visual art. Digital painting lets me create visual art with my hand. I knew that one day I would revisit this interesting medium. That one day came with the COVID pandemic. Unwilling to venture out with my camera, I turned to digital painting as an outlet for visual art making. I am still finding my way as a digital painter. All my paintings start with a blank canvas, and all marks are made by my hand.
Whether through photography or painting, I love creating visual art.
CV
Education
2016 BFA (Emphasis in Photography), University of Colorado Denver – Summa Cum Laude
2014 Study Abroad: (Photography, Optics and Perspective in Italy, and Historic Photographic Processes in Italy), University of Colorado Denver and the Santa Reparata International School of Art, Florence, Italy
1979 MS (EE/CS), Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles
1969 BS (Mathematics), California State University Los Angeles
Honors and Awards
2014 Study Abroad Scholarship, UC Denver College of Arts & Media, Visual Arts Department
1979 Inducted into Tau Beta Pi National Engineering Honor Society by the California Omicron Chapter at Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA
Collections
2014 A Pilgrimage to the Site of the Sand Creek Massacre (photo-essay), Denver Public Library Western History and Genealogy Department Special Collections, Denver, CO
Exhibition Record
2024
Bon Air Artists Association Members’ Show, Perkinson Gallery, Perkinson Center for the Arts, Chester VA
Camera Club of Richmond “People in Place” exhibit, Slantwall Gallery, Cultural Arts Center, Glen Allen VA
Artspace Members’ Group Show, Artspace Gallery, Richmond, VA
Bon Air Artists Association Members’ Show, Gumenick Gallery, Cultural Arts Center, Glen Allen VA
2023
12th Biennial International Miniature Invitational Exhibition, Artspace Gallery, Richmond, VA
Bon Air Artists Association Annual Art Show to benefit “Children’s Hospital of Richmond”, Midlothian, VA
Camera Club of Richmond “Sight Unseen” Exhibit, Slantwall Gallery, Glen Allen Arts Center, VA
2022
Camera Club of Richmond Exhibit, Gellman Room, Richmond Public Library, Richmond, VA
2021
Bon Air Artists Association Members’ Show, Gumenick Gallery, Glen Allen Arts Center, VA
2020
Bon Air Artists Association Members’ Show, Crossroads Art Center, Richmond, VA
Bon Air Artists Association 2nd Annual Art Show to benefit “Fore Children”, Midlothian, VA
2019
Camera Club of Richmond Show at Art Works Skylight Gallery, Richmond, VA
Bon Air Artists Association Members’ Show, Crossroads Art Center, Richmond, VA
Bon Air Artists Association Group Exhibition, Glen Allen Cultural Arts Center, Glen Allen, VA
Bon Air Artists Association 1st Annual Art Show to benefit “Fore Children”, Midlothian, VA
2018
Camera Club of Richmond Show at Art Works Skylight Gallery, Richmond, VA
Bon Air Artists Association Members’ Show, Crossroads Art Center, Richmond, VA
5th Annual Artful Healing Fine Art Exhibit, University of Richmond Jepson Alumni Center, Richmond, VA
Bon Air Artists Association Group Exhibition, Capital One Knolls Campus, Glen Allen, VA
2017
Bon Air Artists Association Group Exhibition, James Center Atrium, Richmond VA
Bon Air Artists Association Members’ Show, Crossroads Art Center, Richmond, VA
2016
Architecture. Structure. Form., Juried Group Exhibition, The Darkroom Gallery, Longmont, CO
Underpass, group BFA thesis exhibition, Redline Gallery and University of Colorado Denver, Denver, CO
Spring UC Denver Juried Student Show, Emmanuel Gallery, Denver, CO
Exhibiting Artist Memberships
Artspace Gallery, Richmond, VA
Bon Air Artists Association, Richmond, VA
Camera Club of Richmond, Richmond, VA
Richmond Digital Photo Club, Richmond, VA
Publications
2016 Frank Mercado, “On Finders and Makers.” In Manifest International Photography Annual (INPHA 4), Cincinnati, OH, Manifest Press, 2016
2016 Spring 2016 BFA Thesis Exhibition (exhibition catalog). Denver, Colorado: University of Colorado Denver, May 2016. Curators: Visual Arts Faculty
Organizations and Affiliations
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
Virginians for the Arts
Denver Art Museum
Center for Fine Art Photography, Ft. Collins, CO
Colorado Photographic Art Center, CO
Society for Photographic Education