Mary Borgman

b. 1959, St. Louis, MO

Mary Borgman creates monumental charcoal portraits that command attention through their scale, presence, and psychological intensity. Working in charcoal on translucent Mylar, she depicts figures that often stand as tall as eight feet, confronting viewers with an immediacy that is both intimate and profound.

Borgman's work captivates on multiple levels. First is its scale. Her portraits hang like contemporary tapestries, enveloping the viewer and establishing a powerful physical presence within the space. Equally compelling is their rich surface texture. Through the expressive use of charcoal and erasure, Borgman creates a dynamic interplay of marks that animate both figure and ground. Distinct charcoal strokes, smudges, and eraser gestures remain visible, revealing the artist's hand and the process of construction. On a fundamentally flat surface, she achieves remarkable volume, depth, and vitality.

Most powerful of all are the gazes of her subjects. Borgman's portraits are not passive likenesses but active encounters. Her figures stare directly outward with striking intensity, creating an experience in which the viewer becomes aware of being observed in return. The exchange is both psychological and deeply human; the subjects seem to examine us every bit as carefully as we examine them.

A former sign language interpreter, Borgman brings an exceptional sensitivity to human presence and communication. Her portraits transcend traditional representation, inviting contemplation of identity, dignity, vulnerability, and connection. Through scale, gesture, and gaze, she transforms portraiture into a profound encounter between subject and viewer.

Borgman's work has been featured in numerous museum and nationally recognized exhibitions, most notably Portraiture Now: Drawing on the Edge at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., where her work was presented alongside five other artists selected for the museum's acclaimed contemporary portraiture series. The exhibition subsequently traveled to the Arkansas Arts Center. Her work has also been presented at Art on Paper, NYC, Intersect, Palm Springs, Art Hamptons, SOFA Chicago, SOFA New York, Art Chicago, the Muskegon Museum of Art, the Pennsylvania College of Art & Design, the Cedarhurst Center for the Arts, and the Arnot Art Museum, among other institutions and venues. Throughout her career, Borgman has maintained a distinguished exhibition record that has established her as one of the leading contemporary practitioners of large-scale drawn portraiture.