Mark Bender

Hometown: Indiana, PA
Joined Chatham: 2016

ACADEMIC AREAS OF INTEREST

Illustrator, Educator, Traditional Art, Digital Art

BIOGRAPHY

An educator for over 25 years and a professional illustrator for over 40 years, Mark Bender brings a passion to convey his message and an attention to craft and process into both realms. His teaching has been awarded the Buhl Professorship Award from Chatham University in 2022 and the Inez C. Hall Outstanding Faculty Award in 2008 from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. His illustration work has been recognized by Communication Arts Magazine, 3X3 Magazine, Archive 200 Best Illustrators, Applied Arts Magazine, AIGA, Creative Quarterly, the Los Angeles Society of Illustrators, and the New York Society of Illustrators. Mark has been included in the NY Society’s annual exhibitions and in Original Art, the best in children’s book illustration. A founding member of the Pittsburgh Society of Illustrators, Mark has also been awarded both gold and silver Addys, Golden Quill Awards, and prestigious silver medals from both the New York Society of Illustrators and the Los Angeles Society of Illustrators.  Mark has 3 works in the permanent collection of the Society of Illustrators Museum in New York.
 
Mark’s illustration is classically inspired and combines traditional media with contemporary technology to create compelling imagery that connects with the audience.  His visual vocabulary pulls from vintage European advertising of the 20s and 30s, WPA and propaganda posters, giving contemporary concepts a timeless motif. Mark’s works have been incorporated into advertising, editorial, mural and institutional clients including MLB- Pittsburgh Pirates, NHL-Pittsburgh Penguins, NFL- Pittsburgh Steelers, Simon & Shuster, Sony Music, NPR, UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, Heinz USA, Carnegie Mellon University, PITT University, East End Brewing, Pittsburgh Regional Transit, La Prima Espresso Roasters, Federated Investors and Commonwealth Press.