Marcus Mercado is a visual artist from Redlands, California. His works deal with themes of memory, place, consumption, neglect, and identity. His artwork focuses on buildings and landscapes that appear destroyed and abandoned; a nod toward neglect and memories of a by-gone era. He invites viewers to connect their own personal memories towards locations portrayed, a self-reflection on not only how we inhabit spaces, but also how we leave those spaces after they are abandoned.

Mercado uses colors within his works to bring a sense of innocence towards the seriousness of defaulted business and bankrupt properties. A local of the Inland Empire, Mercado has seen the removal of orange groves and strawberry fields with the emergence of warehouses and commercial developments. Family run restaurants and shopping centers that have since closed due to financial hardships from commercial competition. Loose brushstrokes give a sense of the blurred memories of the past as well as the disorienting perception of how our environment is treated through human interactions. Mercado suggests the reality of permanence and the effects of neglect that befall on the structures we leave behind. As you look at these works, think of how you may have interacted with these locations and what the future holds for those buildings that still remain.

Mercado received his BFA in visual arts from the California State University San Bernardino. His paintings can be seen in galleries within the Inland Empire as well as murals displayed throughout Redlands.