I began drawing around the age of 4 or 5, after having nearly died from pneumonia. When I came around, my mother brought me colored pencils, paper, and comic books to entertain myself. That was the beginning of my journey as an artist. As I grew up, I used art to express feelings and perceptions that seem beyond language. Art has provided me with a world without limitation.
Art is a creative meditation for me. To give form to a concept through my art is an expression of life. As long as I have the tools to liberate my creativity, I am free. Who we are is not limited to the perceptions of others or our physical form, nor can it be contained by them or by a piece of parchment framed by words. Art is my gateway to look beyond these seeming limitations to see true essence.
My artwork has evolved and expanded to different mediums, subjects, content, and techniques over the years. Initially working with pencils, I began to develop my illustrative style. I incorporated new techniques acquired by mistake, by observation of other artists’ work, and through my exploration of a variety of genres. It wasn’t until I was in my early 50s that I began working with acrylics and watercolor. My style and technique are as diverse as my artwork: from the symbolic and metaphorical, to fantasy and the natural world. My art is influenced by my personal life experiences, the spiritual nature of reality, interconnection, and my musings.
Maybe something in my artwork will speak to and inspire someone else.
Mark A. Cádiz, also known as Rev. M. Seishin Cádiz, is of Puerto Rican descent, was born on a U.S. Air Force base in Texas, and lived in the Bronx as a child before moving to the West Coast. He served as a paratrooper for the U.S. Army in Panama. He is a son, a brother, an uncle, a father, a grandfather, and an ordained Soto Zen priest. He was given the Buddist name "Seishin" (pronounced Say-shin) which means "Pure Heart-Mind." Seishin hopes his artwork will connect and inspire others to look deeper into what it means to be human and the interconnections of existence that encompass life.
Seishin's work has been exhibited at a variety of venues including: SF 9th Circuit Court (2019), SF Opera House (2021); Liberation Prison Project Show (2021 & 2022); The Berkeley Art Museum(2022), The United Nations Peace Flag Project (2022); Return to Sender: Prison as Censorship, EFA Gallery NY, (2023); Work Assignments: Forced Prison Labor in the Land of the Free, several Bay Area locations (2023 & 2024); Seeing Through Stone, Institute of the Arts and Sciences, Santa Cruz (through Jan.5th 2025); Paperchained International, Boom Gate Gallery, Australia (2024); The View from Here, Philadelphia, Mill Valley Public Library and Richmond Art Center, CA(2023 & 2024); and the upcoming exhibition Painting Ourselves Into Society, Berkeley Art Center (September 21st 2024 - January 12th, 2025). He produced the cover art for Apogee Journal (2020), and the NYU School of Law Collaborative Report with Scrutinize (March 2024).
Read more: San Quentin News, Mark Cadiz's art honors San Quentin Covid deaths
Mark A. Cádiz #E-88912
5-D-03-L
San Quentin State Prison
San Quentin, CA 94974
California | SQSP
