Case Study:
Mark Whalen
Engineering a Digital Language for Physical Fine Art
The Challenge:
Since 2017, I have served as Mark Whalen’s primary digital sculpting partner. Mark has developed a deeply personal iconography of symbols and objects. The challenge for his recent exhibitions was not just sculpting individual pieces, but ensuring every new object—whether a balloon hand or a distorted face—maintained strict consistency with his established visual language while pushing the narrative into new territory.
To keep up with Mark's prolific output, I moved beyond one-off sculpting and created a comprehensive digital asset library. We built a database of interchangeable, pre-sized parts—hands, eyes, facial expressions, and props.
This allowed us to "kitbash" new concepts rapidly. We could swap a hand holding a clock for a hand holding a pillow in seconds, ensuring that size, shape, and stylistic DNA remained consistent across the entire collection.
As for fabrication, I hollowed out the pieces with precise wall thickness. I also pioneered techniques for making sure that everything fit together seamlessly after printing.
In addition to the organization and technical challenges, the pieces had to look great. Artistic fidelity is paramount when working with such a prolific artist as Mark Whalen.
Quick Iteration: Mark’s process is highly experimental and requires testing ideas on the fly. Leveraging my background in high-speed industries like commercials and animation, I was able to iterate in real-time.
The Workflow: We shared screens and images live, allowing us to manipulate forms instantly. I used digital techniques that delivered results in minutes where traditional processes would take days, ensuring the digital model matched Mark's mental image perfectly before we ever committed to manufacturing.