Creator of large scale "physically assertive", (Feinstein) irregular shaped forms in bronze and mixed media and with cultural iconic themes, Mark Handforth was born in Hong Kong and raised in England. He studied at the Slade School of Fine Art at University College, London; and at Staatliche Hochschule in Frankfurt, Germany, and since 1992, has lived in Miami, Florida. His work reflects his own experiences of cultural migration and displacement and the effects those changes can have on a human being such as himself. To convey these themes, he uses familiar objects but distorts them in early unrecognizable ways.

Among his pieces are depictions of a lamppost that is stretched out and then turned in upon itself; Sidewalk Heart, which is bent pipe and lit candles; and Rolling Stop, a stopsign turned nearly upside down.

Handforth has exhibited widely in the United States and Europe including the Museum of Contemporary Art in North Miami. In December 2002, his work was featured in a solo exhibition at the Hammer Museum at the University of California in Los Angeles. For this event and taking his cue from the vaulted ceiling of the Gallery, he lined the walls with rows of flourescent lights and on one end "he used such lights to crate a large mandala-like burst."

Sources:
http://www.hammer.ucla.edu/exhibitions/25/
Roni Feinstein, "Handforth's Fallen Angels", Art in America, June 2008
http://www.gavinbrown.biz/files/file_upload/Handforth.pdf